Saturn Stars, recently released by The Boy In The Rose Garden is a testament to resilience.

Why make someone your whole universe when you’re not even a star in their galaxy?

The Boy In The Rose Garden

You’ve fallen in love with a person that feels like a party. The lights just seem to find them, they know every word to the songs on a stranger’s playlist, each beat they move expertly to. The drinks are sweet and your surrounded by friends, time is moving too quickly on the night you don’t want to end but then they’re still at it yet it’s 6 am you wonder when you’ll be home again, your glass is empty and your ears are numb, but their eyes are searching for you, so you continue to move, smile stuck to your face.

You dance, you drink, you stay for them because leaving arm in arm is better than leaving alone. You feel as though you’re in love with a ghost but being haunted is better than being abandoned. Your world is built for them whilst you’re barley a yard of tarmac in theirs, but that doesn’t matter because at least you are there and when their eyes find yours you exist and, in that moment, you know you are everything. You spend your time finding ways to find that fire, you want to burn for them.

In their song Saturn Stars artist The Boy In The Rose Garden explores similar semantics, falling for the person that dropped you, hoping they’ll be the one to catch you. You are only the person of their dreams because you only matter to them when they’re asleep.

Boy in the rose garden

The ethereal vocals entrance you just as the previous lovers once had, you’re death to the eery undertone, a sinister nod to your foreboding future, a sound that places you in a disorientating mist, the confusion of what is is to be in love with someone who seemingly once felt the same for your but now sees you as thick dust on the fireplace, noticed just before a guest comes over.

Their words whip into you, but you’re just happy to bleed for them, to show them you truly love them, to show your devotion as they turn their back on your bones, you’ve learned to feel at home with the sense of being alone. Let go? Would you let go of all that you have When all you have to your name is a stone it becomes a jewel, a throne. You’re home a haunted house full of whispers of who used to roam the halls, figments of what once was but can never be again, the bare body of what could have been, where you throw your keys and lay your head. You had nothing, they provided you with a rag, you use it to wash my skin, bandage your wounds to cover your frail frame as you lay to rest. Holding out your empty hands and your full heart you declare, “this is all I have, and it is my kingdom, if it costs me my life it will have been worth it”.

The Boy In The Rose Garden

If you were a candle, you would set yourself alight to aid their journey to bed in the dead of night. If there were no food in the fridge you would volunteer your soul to keep them fed until Sunday. If all their clothes were to rip you would peel off your skin to keep them. Loving them is the passion that comes with knowing you would give yourself up for them to go on, for who are you to take from the living?

You are the whisper to their crowded room. A crease in their new shoe. You’re being held close, but your being used as a shield protecting them from themselves, what weapons id you bring to a war you did not know you would be fighting? Every bullet they shoot at you reflects how they view themselves, and you willingly make yourself a larger target, convinced you can take it if they promise to love you. That’s all you ask, love me you cry as they feast of your flesh, love me you beg as they wash their hands with your tears, love me you weep as they use your body as a punching bag, at least when they touch you, you are worthy.

Self produced, Saturn Stars ,in itself, is a testament to resilience, an audible lighthouse when you’re in the depths of the dark sea, just because you’re drowning does not mean you should grab onto the first thing that feels solid, a rock will just drag you down deeper, find your lifeboat.

With antoher song coming out in june 2023 promises to be a successful year for The Boy In The Rose Garden. Stay up to date with their releases by follwing them on social media.

(If your situation sounds like this there is help out there. Please reach out. You are not alone.)

Break Up with Valentines Blues

Heart Shaped boxes are back in store, personalised gift cards and chocolate galore.February 14th, the marmite of the holidays. Either you’re frantically scrolling titktok for that perfect last minute gift idea or you’re in your local buying booze and chocolate for yourself before tipsly crying to Love Island.

I could recomend some love songs but I feel quite cynical, lets have a collective cry together to the tune of these break up ballads.

RAYE- Escapism

RAYE Escapism

What doesn’t this tune have? RAYE encaspulates the washing machine of emotions you rinse though in the few weeks after a break up. The drunken denial, depressive episodes flung out in bed, nights spent out with neglected friend’s, dressing up and doing it all over again. Pouring drinks, taking shots, spilling yourself over blurred men. The weight of what RAYE has been through serves to her strength in this song as she learns to have fun with her feelings, she may be broken hearted but she’s still that bitch ;

“At least it’s the Prada two-piece that I’m trippin’ in
And I’m already actin’ like a dick, know what I mean?
So you might as well stick it in”

The inability to acknowledge the loss of a lover, the need to feel numb and the escape that comes with this denile and its distractions are all rife in this song. For a heavy topic the beat of the song still sends you in to your own groove when that wine hits or the tears flow. When you’re feeling a certain way escapsim,featuring 070 Shake,becomes a dance party in your ears. You feel RAYE’s rage and channel it through dance.

Escapism has been released as part of RAYE’s new album; My 21ST Century Blues which she has described as,

” A mosaic of different fragmented pieces from the last seven years of my life

with no sonic consistency, and no holding back.”

RAYE ,born Rachel Agatha Keen, went viral on titktok with this song landing her a number one on the UK offcials single charts.Not to steal her spotlight but we jumped on the Raye Tiktok wagon with our own creation;

@evolve_music

Can’t have a morning routine without music. Head over to EVOLVE MUSIC to discover so many talented people and revisit a few familiar faces! @raye #music #podcast #spotify #makeup #fyp

♬ Escapism. – Super Sped Up – RAYE

Raye is a household name in the music industry relasing songs such as Confidence, Tequila and You don’t know me ,to name a few, but after parting ways with Polydor records last year her new album echoes promises of a powerful era for the singer.

Maisie Peter’s – Body Better

Another break up ballad you may want to retreat into comes from Maisie Peters.

Body Better has been described by Peters as a song about;

“Insecurity and vulnerability, about giving a lot of yourself away to someone who decides they don’t want it anymore and knowing where to go from there.”

Writing it in the aftermath of a break up, the song is indepth as we all are when we reflect on every minor detail of a premature departure. The tone of a text message, regretting getting annoyed the bin hadn’t been emptied, being proud you had defended your decisions all become our focus, forgetting who we are. This disorientation in the face of reflection resonates throughout this song. Were we enough? Were we too much? was it you, was it them? What happened? This internal interogation has one destination; Tears. You can text them, you can call, you can relive it all in your head but what sort of freedom is that?

Peter’s remains self assured in this song, her soul bearing lyrics serving as a reminder that we did our best, we were enough, they just didn’t appreciate that. Sometmes it is not what has been done, or even what has been said, sometimes you’re just sleeping in the wrong bed.

“Cause it was nothing I did and nothing I said
And I know I gave you all of myself, one hundred percent”

Whilst this song may not warrent a dance party you can still have a bedroom rave to it, or a power walk round your neigbourhood, strutting past all those entwined together.The track itself is very joyous, with an encouraging drumbeat. The bouncy nature of the tune detracts from the weight of the lyrics which are littered with negative comparisons, critising yourself, fearing that your love is not enough when it is your only weapon agaisnt someone you believe has been chosen for their ‘better body’.

Body Better has been released to tease Peters upcoming album- title still to be announced. She’s also touring with a few tickets left! Find out more here.

I have loved her music since Psycho, Blonde and then (more recently) Not another rockstar which again I just had to do a TikTok too, as well as writing a blog piece about.

@evolve_music

Not another Rockstar- Maisie Peters reviewed on EVOLVE Music- follow my Instagram to find it! #maisiepeters #rockstar #spoons #fyp #nightout #music #love

♬ Not Another Rockstar – Maisie Peters

Shakira and the jam- Her disstrack on Pique

Shakira

Finally, we’ve all been inspecting our jam jars recently, analysing its levels with a side eye to our signifcant other. If you have no clue what I am talking about, how have you not seen the TikTok dances to Shakira’s, now iconic,disstrack. Aimed at her cheating ex boyfriend Gerard Pique, Shakira holds nothing back remaining confident and cut throat throughout.

It is full blown Shakira, empowered, independent and fierce sick of disapointments and betrayed by the missing jam she leaves the situation.

Her now ex boyfriend Pique was a professioanl centre back, a champion in his league but Shakira was way out of his and he gave her “the worst version of himself”. Claiming herslef back as the ‘She wolf’ she is Shakira seems unphased by his lack of remorse, she is over his actions and empowered by her new found singlehood. The beat before the chorus has very quickly become inconic with its wide use on tiktok dance trends- no this time I haven’t made one but there is still time-

A lose translation of her lyrics shows how strong Shakria is, monetizing the opportunity and moving on’

“Women no longer cry, women get paid”

Alongside Miley Cyrus’s Flowers (which I did create a TikTok about) Shakira’s disstrack has been dubbed one of the most iconic songs in break up history.

Shakira met Pique way back in 2010 when he starred in her music video for Waka Waka, the offical song for the world cup that year. They went public with their relationship in 2011, sharing a kiss on stage at Shakira’s show in Barcelona. The broke up back in 2022 , after 11 years together. Initally Shakira wanted to stay silent about the reasons for the split but it wasn’t long before Picque was seen with another woman. The betrayal became clear.

Shakira has described the disstrack as “cathartic” dedicating it to the “millions of owmen who rise up against those who make us feel insigniciant, women who stand up for what they feel, think and raise their hand when they disagree. They are my inspiration”

However you spend Valentines day whether it be wrath, lust or love look after yourself, each other and remain respectful and true to yourself. Whether you’re searching for love or searching for youself, stay strong and stick some tunes on.

Miley Cyrus Releases Flowers

Who’s ready for an Endless Summer Vacation?

Miley Cyrus Flowers

After a two-year hiatus Miley Cyrus is back with a banging break up anthem.

Flowers is an ode to self-love, empowerment, and self-preservation. It is Yves Saint Laurent clad battle move against broken hearts, it’s the sound of a new era for Miley Cyrus.

The song has a lot of direct references to her marriage with, now ex-husband, Liam Hemsworth as well as some easter eggs hidden in the accompanying music video. The lyrics “Built a home and watched it burn” are a double entendre representing the Woolsey Fire of 2018 that destroyed the pairs home in Malibu as well as the incidents between the couple that razed their relationship. The song itself was released on the 13th of January-Hemsworth’s birthday further emphasising who this song may be about.

The theme of independence and empowerment run throughout the video with Miley dancing with herself, working out and ‘talking to herself for hours’. This is buttressed by the apparent back drop for this video, set in Los Angeles the mansion we see Cyrus strut in and swim in is supposedly her own Studio city home although some fan theories think it is the house where Hemsworth is alleged to have had affairs in.

However, Miley addressed cheating claims in 2019 saying “I can admit to a lot of things, but I refuse to admit that my marriage ended because of cheating. Liam and I have been together for a decade. I’ve said it before and it remains true, I love Liam and always will.”

It has also been suggested that the suit Miley wears in the mansion is meant to replicate the suit Hemsworth wore the night when he told Cyrus to behave whilst she was dancing on a red carpet. Fan have even analysed the YSL gown Cyrus wears at the start of the music video, wondering if its shade to the golden dress Jennifer Lawrence wore at the hunger games premier in 2012 although we think this is a bit of a stretch.

The most repeated reference to Hemsworth is the actual tune of the song. Sampled from Bruno Mars Flowers mirrors ‘When I was your man’ which Hemsworth apparently dedicated to Cyrus during their engagement. Although these rumours are yet to be confirmed it is a power move from Miley to take these words back and use them as her own sword.

Although this is clearly a breakup banger it is also a romantic ballad to the self. Remember you can love yourself better than anyone can, you can stick your favourite songs on and dance on your own, get dressed up and have nowhere to go. it is the relationship we share with ourselves which is the most important to our own preservation. cherish each other loudly but cherish yourself louder.

Flowers is part of Miley’s new album Endless summer vacation is set to release March 10. It will be the eighth studio album. Cyrus has described it as her “Love letter to L.A”.

Album trailer

“The music and imagery of ‘Endless Summer Vacation’ [serves] as a reflection of the strength she’s found in focusing on both her physical and mental well-being,” reads the official news release.

After hosting a NYE concert/party with Godmother Dolly Parton, dropping Flowers, and an upcoming album it is clear 2023 is Miley’s year.

Now wipe your eyes and go buy some flowers in your best gold suit.