_edited.png)
Hello! Welcome back to my blog, Earworm, for this week's blog post! Today I wanted to talk about an artist who has been living in my head rent-free for the past 3 years; Hemlocke Springs! She's one of many up-and-coming pop artists who I think has so much potential. So I'll go ahead and fully introduce you to her, and maybe you'll even give her a listen? Pretty please??
Background
Hemlocke Springs is an artist I've been listening to since 2022, and even if you don't recognize her, there's a good chance you've listened to her too at some point. Specifically, if you were on TikTok during the latter half of the pandemic, you might have heard of 'gimme all ur luv' or 'Girlfriend', as both songs went viral on the app. Especially 'Girlfriend', which got a lot of attention due to its catchy melodies and its unique bridge. For that reason, it's currently Hemlocke's most popular song and led to her making a breakthrough after only 2 single releases. Many were drawn to her unique songwriting style and nostalgic yet refreshing 90s/2010-pop sound. When combined, these two factors make Hemlocke's music refreshing and interesting during a time when pop music was admittedly lacking in those two areas. That's not to say pop music had gone bad, but people were looking back at the history of pop and wondering where the fun had gone. For me, Hemlocke Springs was the remedy for that problem.
Hit After Hit
Before releasing any kind of full-fledged project, Hemlocke released quite a few singles, including the two I already talked about, with most of them ending up on her debut EP. One that I haven't mentioned yet is 'Sever the Blight,' which had me completely hooked the first time I heard it. It shares similarities with 'Girlfriend', but has more of an upbeat kick to it. The chorus is so addicting and satisfying to listen to. The music video and promotion for this song also departed from her usual aesthetic in favor of a medieval-era approach, which gave me an even deeper look into her creativity and overall potential as an artist. Another example of this addictive and captivating sound is 'heavun'. This song steals your attention from the moment it starts with a relentless synth that beats over and over again and carries you through almost the entirety of the song. While the chorus of a song is usually the climactic point, the chorus in this track actually mellows out a bit in order to put more focus on the catchy lyrics and slowly builds to blend back into each verse. For that reason, this song has a really smooth flow that keeps the listener invested while also providing a consistent listening experience. The song 'enknee1' was released in tandem with the announcement of her debut EP, which was set to release a month later. It is a good example of her songwriting style. The song explores the idea of loneliness and yearning for love, wondering if there's anyone out there for you. While the meaning of the song is pretty straightforward and a feeling felt by many, she goes into further detail- asking if maybe she's the kind of person who's just flat-out unlovable. Of course, that isn't really true, but whenever we start to feel that sense of loneliness, we begin to think that we are the problem. And 'problems' always need fixing, so now she finds herself trying to fix parts of herself that were never broken in the first place. She recognizes this endless cycle of self-reinvention just ends up making love more unnecessarily complicated in the end. This inference can be made with only three lines of lyrics, which is a really impressive feat. This song was a departure from her usual fun and bubbly pop songs and showed us a new side of her that was more vulnerable and complex. As I mentioned, this was the last song she put out before releasing her first major project, so let's go ahead and talk about her debut EP.
going...going...GONE!
On September 29, 2023, Hemlocke Springs dropped her long-awaited debut EP 'going...going...GONE!', with 7 tracks and a runtime of roughly 21 minutes. However, two of her previous singles were excluded from this EP; 'sever the blight' and 'stranger danger!'. In their place are three new songs; 'pos', 'train to nowhere', and the title track 'going...going...GONE!". While I was initially disappointed to see 'sever the blight' not make it onto the EP, these new songs were definitely crucial to the overall artistic vision of the project since 'sever the blight' had a different vibe both sonically and visually from the rest of the songs on the EP. The same can be said for 'stranger danger!' as well. As for the new tracks,
'pos' is a standout song on the track list and might be Hemlocke's most unique piece of work yet. It's a nostalgic-sounding pop song with lots of different noises and hints of funk that create a sound that I haven't heard in a long time. It's a song that sounds familiar, but you can't quite put your finger on it due to all of the interesting things going on, which makes for an interesting first-listening experience and may also take some time to fully grow on the listener because of it's quirks. 'the train to nowhere' also quickly became one of my personal favorites from this project because of it's low-key yet enchanting sound. Not to mention, it might be Hemlocke's best-written song to date, with lyrics that flow like a story and a production that gives the listener a visual for that story. All of this while also keeping the listener on their toes. The song adds different elements to further develop itself as the song continues. Just really great stuff. While this project wasn't super long, it did give us a glimpse into Hemlocke's artistry and her future potential.
What's Next?
Following the release of 'going...going...GONE!', many critics and publications regarded the EP as being unapologetically fun and creative and having an interesting outlook on love and her perception in society. Despite the praise, Hemlocke has yet to follow up the project with any new music so far. It's not like she's gone radio-silent, though. She's been performing on solo-tours and some festivals here and there. Notably, she was an opening act on both Ashnikko's Weedkiller Tour in Europe in late 2023 and Doja Cat's Scarlet Tour in Europe during the summer of 2024. Speaking of which, she actually released a Spotify Singles EP that includes a new version of 'girlfriend' that added an extra verse and a cover/remix of Doja Cat's 'Agora Hills', which adds a fun twist to the song that further proves Hemlocke's versatility. In the past year or so, she has been active on both Twitter/X and TikTok. From the looks of it, she's currently working on her debut album, sharing little tidbits here and there about the process on social media. At the end of 2024, she replied to a fan asking about new music by saying that she'll have new music coming out sometime in 2025. As of writing this, just last week, she shared a clip on TikTok of her working on the album with producer BURNS, who helped with a few of the songs on her EP. In the caption of the video, she mentions that the process of making the album has been a little stressful, but that she's also grateful for the opportunity to make a full album. She also lets us know that she's still actively working on it and that it isn't quite done yet. That leaves a lot of room for speculation as to when the album will arrive. And going back to that comment I made earlier about new music this year, it's completely possible that it might just be a single at the very end of the year, or she could literally drop a single within a week of me posting this (that would be just my luck). There's just really no telling at the moment. Looks like we'll just have to continue waiting patiently for now.
Wrapping Up
All of this to say, I really like what Hemlocke Springs has going on right now and am so so excited to see what the future has to offer her. I think she's got a really promising career ahead of her if she keeps this up! If you're reading this and haven't heard any of her music yet, I really think you should go check her out! If you like any genre of pop, I guarantee you can find at least one song to enjoy from her. I'll go ahead and attach some of her music at the bottom of this post. With that being said, thank you so much for reading this week's blog post, and make sure to check back next week!
Earworm ~-~-~o
Thanks for reading!
-Joey :)
Comments