Florrie has returned, and she’s ready to Florrieish once again. (Sorry. So, so sorry.)
Three years after her last release (“Real Love”), the 30-year-old singer-songwriter-drummer-model-Xenomania darling – known for everything from banging on the drums on Girls Aloud‘s “The Promise” in 2008 to co-penning 2012’s still-unbeatable “Something New” for the girls, as well as Mini Viva‘s impeccable “One Touch,” to her own “Call 911” and a series of Xenomania-produced singles and EPs ever since – returned with a brand new single on Friday (May 3) called “Borderline.”
Unlike basically every electro-popping piece of music she’s released prior to this moment, “Borderline” is a marked shift in style; a gentle, ethereal, piano-led classic pop ballad written, produced and performed entirely by Florrie herself.
If the stripped-down sound wasn’t enough of an indication, the song marks a new chapter for Florrie.
“After freeing myself from a major record label in 2016, I have spent the last 3 years doing what I love, writing, recording, playing drums, and working on projects that I’m passionate about. This was a really important process for me…to find joy in music again. I wrote ‘Borderline’ on the piano in my flat one morning last year, and I knew straight away that I wanted to share it. It’s very personal to me, and I hope you love it as much as I do,” she explains.
While it may not be suited for the dance floor, Florrie’s knack for earworm melodies (those haunting background vocals!) hasn’t changed a bit. It’s incredibly repeat-friendly. Essentially, this could be one of those serious-faced “acoustic/stripped” takes on a big pop hit. The lyricism is good, too, as she provides a calming safety net for someone who’s a bit more, uh, unpredictable. (I love this line: “You’re beautiful and complicated too / A fancy room with a bad view.“)
“Borderline” is getting off to a running start: the song was featured in an episode of the (apparently eternally running) Grey’s Anatomy, which just aired on Thursday (May 2). And guess what? Music discovery via Grey’s Anatomy is still a thing since 2005, as evidenced by some of the comments section on her YouTube. (“Grey’s sent me here!”)
It feels good to have Florrie back after all this time, and frankly, it’s inspiring on a personal level to know she’s not giving up on her passion.
Let’s all go and meet her at the borderline.
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“Borderline” was released on May 3. (iTunes)
