There’s no denying that Manchester has long been known as a hotbed of musical talent. We all know the big names of a bygone era, but the current independent scene is also blossoming. Amongst the sea of male dominated acts making names for themselves, the emergence of Abbie Ozard’s etherial debut, Everything Still Worries Me, proves there’s plenty of room at the table for female singer songwriters.
With three EPs now under her belt, Ozard is well prepared to take on a whole album. Here, she matures from the candid quirkiness of her previous releases into a slightly more streamlined style of lyricism. Clever without being cliche, her words are seamlessly strung together into a glorious daisy chain of flowery dream pop.
In utilising a wide range of sounds to suit the shifting moods across the record, including some smart yet subtle vocal effects, Ozard constructs a coherent piece of work, where no two songs tell the exact same story, but all add up to create something truely unique.
Opening up with ‘the window’, Ozard documents the ups and downs of long term relationships as shifting synths surround. Then bam, it’s straight into ‘how are you holding up’s’ festival ready chorus. One can instantly anticipate the track becoming a singalong staple, accompanied at Ozard’s upcoming live dates by a sea of enthusiastic fists in the air. ‘Anything for you’ paints another striking picture, with gothic vibes smeared across the track like heavy eyeliner, while upbeat breakup anthem ‘monsters’ provides a lighthearted look at the dark side of dating.
From the opening acoustic, ‘days like these’ accentuates the stress of social media, and the pressure we put on ourselves in the pursuit of other’s approval. As Ozard recalls: “I spent quite a bit of time off posting on social media the past few months, and at the start it made me feel so inadequate, like what I was doing was pointless because I wasn’t filming or making content from it. It took a while to go back to appreciating small things without thinking that I needed to film/post about it, but it was such a lightbulb moment for me.”
‘I don’t know happiness without you’ presents another difficult question: when do we truely become adults? The answer, for some of us, may seem like never. But as the years go by and our lives evolve, we will always have the constant of the people we know and love.
Moving on from stripped back ballad ‘i miss it when we were just friends’, relationship woes persist with woozy tune ‘night time.’ Bringing to mind the stumbling stage of a night out, sonically it seems like the perfect soundtrack to swallowing another shot and dancing the dramas away.
‘Party 4 1’ eludes to efforts to escape from the excruciating gaze of being an up and coming artist. Launching into sky high vocals in the chorus, Ozard affirms: “Right now there’s a party for one/And I feel free/To be whoever I wanna be/When no one’s watching me”.
Standout single and collaboration with Liverpudlian pop princess Pixey, ‘miss american dream’ is a hazy summer daze bathed in bright, bold beats. Both artists lend their voices to this glorious gaze into girlhood, celebrating connections of all kinds between women. ’Space for two’ starts out sounding like a cassette demo from decades ago, with it’s tape recorded vocal effect slowly smoothing out amidst soulful percussion.
‘Everything still worries me’ laments the anxiety and mental anguish that emerges in toxic relationships, and the self blame that coddles us when we try to escape. “I’ve been working on my CBT/But everything still worries me” Ozard sings, as an airy cloud of twinkling chimes and orchestral keys settle.
Thought provoking finale ‘think for yourself’ presents a tongue in cheek riff on influencer culture, opening with an unsettling AI generated voice sprouting self care drawl that drops straight in and lurks, not unlike the critical thoughts this content brings to the backs of many young minds.
Overflowing with emotion without drowning in self pity, Ozard gets the balance just right with her debut. Featuring dance anthems, break up ballads, and even throwing in the odd laugh here or there, Everything Still Worries Me proves that when it comes to her future as a musician, Abbie Ozard can easily be reassured that she has nothing to worry about.
Everything Still Worries Me is out now via House Anxiety
