After a four-year hiatus, Birdy returned earlier this month with an achingly lovely ballad called “Open Your Heart.” She now follows that up with “Island Lights,” another haunting cut from her upcoming Piano Sketches EP (due November 2). “Somehow, we have to make a start, should make it back before the dark,” the English singer/songwriter begins. “Somehow, we have to go on apart, the island lights are turning on.” That takes us to the mournful chorus. “You are my song and my silence, the only one I confide in,” she sings.
“You were my sun and this winter never thaws, and nothing seems to grow here anymore.” What inspired the track? “Some days end and take whole chapters of our lives with them, this song is about one of those nights,” Birdy reveals in the press release. She also explains her absence. “I’ve spent the last few years recording a new album coming next year which I’m super-excited to share,” the 24-year-old elaborates. “I’ll be releasing the tracks stripped back over the coming months ahead of the album.” Listen to “Island Lights” below.