Photo: Kid Circus

Interview Matilda Mann talks through new EP ‘You Look Like You Can’t Swim’

Following the release of her most recent project, the singer-songwriter talks us through the inspirations and stories behind each track.

Words: Daisy Carter
20th July 2023

Over the past few years, London-based singer-songwriter Matilda Mann has honed her ability to pen intricate, intimate ballads over a series of well-received EPs.

Her latest, ‘You Look Like You Can’t Swim’ is no different - showcasing lyrical vulnerability and delicate, guitar-led arrangements, its five tracks have a dream quality that evokes nostalgia and long summer evenings. Here, Matilda gives us an insight into her inspirations for each song.

In Plain Sight

I think it’s crazy, out of all the people in the world, you manage to find someone so perfect for you, hidden in plain sight. We wrote this song on the hottest day of the year, and all started to go a little crazy. I think it was the perfect time to make a sweet little love song that we could spend the summer nights dancing around to.

Margaux

I think whenever I’m overwhelmed or stressed, the best thing for me has always been having some time alone. Sometimes you can feel yourself slipping away from someone, and you’re not quite sure why, until you figure out that it’s because you’re best apart. I guess ‘Margaux’ is from the perspective of who you’re leaving: how they saw you fall away; how the subtle things started to change; and how life is how without them.

The Day That I Met You

The world can suck, and some days it feels more like a constant than something temporary. But then you meet someone, and the hand life dealt you suddenly doesn’t feel so bad.

You Look Like You Can’t Swim

Sometimes you’re your own worst enemy and you can get too much in your head about things. I tend to panic that I’m getting things wrong, that I haven’t done something well enough, that I’m not staying in touch with people or that I should be doing more. And I just want someone to tell me what to do, so I don’t mess it up.

If Only

When you’re in a relationship, it’s hard to see every perspective, every way it could go and what you should change. So afterwards, there’s always a lot of reflecting, and sometimes you wonder how you didn’t see that they never wanted to stay the way you did.

‘You Look Like You Can’t Swim’ is out now.

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