Introducing… Gatlin

With over 150 million streams, Gatlin is adding her name to the Phoebe Bridgers collective of softer, softest indie rock anthem writers. On her new double release single, she shows off her anthemic ballad side with ‘Happy’ and ‘Pipe Dream‘. Whilst the latter is a short 90-second burst of acoustic guitar, vocals and a call-and-response vocoder, it marks out Gatlin as someone who isn’t afraid to try out new ideas. I quite like it, and it’s a quirky support to the main single ‘Happy’.

‘Happy’ is anything but. Gatlin wrote the song with her friend Carrie K a few years ago about her depression. She was in an Avril Lavigne and Mazzy Star phase at the time, and you can hear the Avril influence in the chorus chord progression and vocal delivery. It is an earnest, poetic ballad with an Americana streak running through it to the bone. It’s funny that the music video is a road trip of sorts, as this track fits a road trip perfectly. The track is a bit whimsy, a little sad, and plenty reflective – just how I like my acoustic alt-country thought provokers!

‘Happy’ is taken from Gatlin’s forthcoming album ‘The Eldest Daughter’, which revolves around gaining independence from a Christian upbringing. It chronicles how it affected her mental health, relationships, confidence and self-belief – both in her self and her creativity. The first single being called ‘Jesus Christ and Country Clubs’, is a heavy clue of where the album is headed thematically. The album is due out on 3rd October.

For more information about the release and tour dates, visit Gatlin’s website.

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