Hi Reader ! How you been lately?

I hope you’re having a really lovely day. If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere I hope you’re enjoying the warm weather, that allergies aren’t hitting too hard, and that you’re excited about summer plans. If you’re in the South I hope you’re finding comfort in warm drinks and blankets, looking forward to jumper season, and maybe rewatching Gilmore Girls or whatever makes you feel cozy.

This issue of Let’s Talk Songs is arriving a way later than planned. I have a good reason. When I last wrote I mentioned I was in England. I ended up staying for six weeks, living in four different houses. And to be honest, I wasn’t listening to much music. Or rather, I didn’t want to have my headphones on.

In London I wanted to hear what people talk about on the tube. In Bath, lying on the grass in Regent’s Park, I preferred listening to the magpies. In Bristol I chose to eavesdrop, hoping to catch the accent and maybe some slang (I didn’t). I was truly and fully immersed in the moment and moved by the realization that I’ve built a life that allows me to pack a bag and leave, just like that, on a whim.

And because I was so present I couldn’t bring myself to sit down and write about music. My heart just wasn’t in it. But that doesn’t mean music wasn’t there. I went to gigs, listened to songs recommended by friends, Real Estate released a new album so of course I listened to that too. The day Issue #4 was supposed to come out was the day I flew back home, it was impossible to do it.

Now the season has shifted from winter to spring. I’m back in Barcelona, where the Sunday sun is warm and golden. I’ve swapped my “don’t forget your scarf” mental note for the “don’t forget your sunglasses" mental note. It’s still light out when I finish work. My freckles are coming out again. Last night I watched Eurovision with friends, the first time I’d seen many of them since my trip. This morning I woke up on my sofa, glitter on my face from kissing someone new.

I didn’t plan it this way, but I suppose Issue #4 turned into a bit of an homage to that last chapter of my life, the soundtrack of April. I don’t feel nostalgic, just deeply grateful. And before moving forward I guess I needed to honor it in the way that makes the most sense to me: by creating something about it. I like knowing that years from now I’ll be able to return to this issue, press play on these songs, and remember what life felt like then.

Because life has been treating me kindly, I hope it’s treating you well too. And I hope you enjoy reading this issue as much as I enjoyed (finally) writing it.

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Now hit play : ) Let's talk songs #4 💌 • Fio... Take Up My Whole Day! • Gail... PREVIEW   ​ And remember you can listen to all the previous issues in one single playlist here​

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A female artist

Take up my whole day! by Gailla (2024)

Gailla is a Sydney-based singer-songwriter I discovered through her sister, whom I met back in 2020 when we were both living in London. Gailla released her first EP late last year and I was so excited to see her perform in Sydney this past January, but the gods of logistics had other plans and I’m still a little bitter about it.

Last month, while I was in London, I met up with her sister for coffee and a proper catch-up. It made me so happy to see her and hear about the life she’s built there. I told her how much I loved Gailla’s EP, and she seemed genuinely surprised I even knew about it. That night I went home and played it again while dancing around with my dog.

Gailla hates capitalism, loves her friends, and wants to save the planet, her EP is more or less about that. Take Up My Whole Day! is my favorite track. I remember listening to it when it first came out: it was summer in Sydney, I was working on an embroidery project, sipping freshly made lemonade, wearing a dress with a balloon pattern, and thinking thank you summer, you’re so summery. It’s a summer EP.

Now that it’s warm in Europe, I play it again and get all those same feelings ☀️🌸

Sure, I could do so many other things

I could live inside a flower

Only listen to the birds

That sing each hour

Yes please, more free time so we can be in nature!

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Either a guy or a band

Difficult situations by The ballet (2013)

When Evripidis invited us to his gig with The Ballet, I had no idea who he was talking about. But I gave them a listen because he said they were sort of in the same universe as The Magnetic Fields.

“Difficult Situations” became my favorite song by them. I played it while cleaning the house. I sang it in the shower. You know the feeling…

it could be chemical

I guess it could be something my mother did to me… or didn’t do.

I put myself into difficult situations, all the time

And I don’t know why

I shouldn’t listen to my intuition

I shouldn’t listen, but I’m on a mission to put myself into difficult situations

The lyrics were simple, but they held so much meaning for me at the time.

My trip to London had gotten off to a rocky start: my suitcase was too big for the cabin so I had to put on four extra layers and repack in front of everyone at the airport. My phone battery decided to last no more than 20 minutes per charge. I had no reception in England (that had never happened before ) so I had to buy a new SIM card. A bank transfer didn’t go through so I landed with just 20 pounds in my card for the whole weekend. To top it off, my friend Adam went to pick me up at the wrong train station (which was totally my fault).

All of that happened in the first four hours.

Why do I do this to myself?

Why did I think it was a good idea to leave my comfort zone? it was so comfy there!

I remember ranting to Adam about how it felt like life was testing me. How I was tired of being taught life lessons. That life should go teach someone else for once and leave me alone!

But even in that chaotic mess of a first day I remember telling him: I know this isn’t how it ends. This is just a plot twist in the story where I become again a really successful solo traveler.

There were more difficult situations along the way (not worth listing here) but at some point I found myself dancing and running around a warm, cozy flat filled with plants, soft colors, a dog, and a cat. This song was playing.

In that moment, in total disbelief that this was my actual life, everything made sense, I knew exactly why I put myself in difficult situations.

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This song is a cool kid with glasses

When the sky darkens down by White magic for lovers (2024)

Note: the lyrics of When the Sky Darkens Down were not available online so I reached out White magic for lovers who kindly sent me the full lyrics, you can read them here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_YYCVeFMMh80Cl5S9p1zkcev1PU_mXmN4kTEWu-fySw/edit?usp=sharing​

Being in London for Record Store Day was something I didn’t plan but fully embraced. It meant waking up at 7 to be at Rough Trade East by 8, just so I could drink my coffee there and flip through the new releases before the crowds rolled in. It meant walking down Brick Lane beholding the beautiful / poetic / funny juxtaposition of people heading home after a long night of dancing, and those already queuing outside indie record shops, hoping to get their hands on some limited edition pressing. Two ends of the music lover: before and after the music.

I didn’t end up buying any records, but I did walk away with Vashti Bunyan’s autobiography and the feeling of having been exactly where I needed to be. I watched six bands play one after the other in the back room of Rough Trade, used their photobooth, stuck a bunch of Let’s Talk Songs stickers around (if you’re reading this because you scanned that QR code welcome and thank you!), and met up with friends.

At one point I went to get an ice cream from a truck parked nearby and told the man it was my first ever time getting ice cream from a truck. He smiled and said in that case the ice-cream was on the house. Unrelated to music, sure, but it added to the strange-magical vibe of the day.

That evening I was on the guest list (thanks Jeeshan!) to see Sea Power play in Islington. I didn’t know any of their songs, but I remembered them from being their stage manager at Indietracks Festival in 2018 and how incredible they’d sounded so despite being exhausted I went.

There were two bands before them, including White Magic for Lovers, a side project of Sea Power’s drummer. I loved the name, and the music even more. It was soft, delicate, and checked so many of my emotional boxes. As they played it felt like everyone in the room was slowly slipping under a warm velvet spell.

I often struggle to make out lyrics at gigs, but when they played When the Sky Darkens Down, I could hear the words perfectly

Now I can hear you in the night

See you in the morning light

Hear you in the garden rain

See you in the sunset again

Hear you in October leaves

See you in the crashing sea

Hear you in a summer breeze

You are with me always

Jeeshan and I looked at each other the same way Jenny and I did back in New York when Jeffrey Lewis played Movie Date. That kind of glance, like we were both silently acknowledging a moment of strange magic.

People expressing feelings of love through nature references: please, never stop. I got goosebumps just writing that.

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You know this artist, maybe not this song

Barely Legal by Real Estate covering The Strokes (2011/2025)

Okay, I’m cheating a bit with this one but it’s my newsletter and I’M ALLOWED TO CHEAT IF I NEED TO.

A few weeks ago Real Estate released a compilation of B-sides and rarities that you should absolutely listen to if you want your life to be even a little bit better. Among those tracks is a cover of Barely Legal, a song you probably already know. They recorded it back in 2011 for a tribute album where various artists celebrated the 10th anniversary of The Strokes’ Is This It?

But none of that context really matters. What matters is: I might like Real Estate’s version more than The Strokes’. There, I said it.

And because I love it so much I’m sharing it here. You might be wondering, “But Fiorella, what about the lyrics?” I don’t know, dude. Strokes lyrics have never made much sense to me, or to Julian Casablancas apparently. He’s said he just sort of freestyles in the studio, pulling scraps from random notes and piecing them together. And yeah… it shows. I mean, it’s a cool skill.

That said, my favorite lines from Barely Legal have always been:

I should’ve worked much harder

I should’ve just not bothered

I never show up on weekdays

That’s something that you learned yesterday

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I just can’t figure oooooout… nothing!

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My discovery of the month

Marmalade making by Tugboat Captain (2025)

I didn’t know anyone or anything in Bristol, but that’s what I wanted.

On my first night there I went alone to an independent cinema house I randomly found on Google Maps. Their description read “This bijou, left-field cinema presents cult and world movies, plus live indie bands” and they were showing a weird 80’s comedy about computers. I was in for a treat. After the movie I ordered a cup of tea at the bar. In the garden I sent a long voice message to Jenny and rolled cigarettes for strangers. A guy gifted me a flower. A different guy gifted me a stone (lol). I talked to everyone because everyone approached me for some reason. The guy who had projected the movie told me about THE website to know what’s on in the city, god bless him. That’s where I learnt Tugboat Captain was playing.

I really liked the lyrics of their song Marmalade Making

This city is fucked

And the rent is a joke

The air tastes like shit

And my flat’s filled with smoke

So i’ll buy myself fruit

Even though I am broke

And I’ll make myself jam

To remind me of home

Yeah, I feel like we all live in cities we sort of hate. Also, access to housing It’s the biggest mindfuck of my generation and I don’t want to write about it because I don’t want to think about it. I feel like we’re all being taking advantage of and are coping by clinging to whatever brings us comfort, marmalade makings sounds like a nice option. In my case is more like soup making.

the line I should just leave but there are reasons to stay is particularly relatable, the reason to stay being mostly that I don’t know where else to go. I know I’m not alone in that feeling for fuck’s sake I live in Barcelona, most people I know are on the same boat.

Side note: if you ever have the chance to see them go, you won't regret it. They're also the nicest guys you'll meet in England.

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