Advance Review - St. South: 'Get Well Soon'

(Photo Credit - @liamgillie)

Advance Review - St. South: Get Well Soon (July 17, 2020)

Buckle up and grab your tissues because Australian songwriter/singer/producer Olivia Gavranich—better known as St. South—has given us an intimate, heartbreakingly relatable debut full-length album. Get Well Soon follows two EPs: Nervous Energy in 2016 and Inure in 2017. St. South, with her ethereal techno sound, managed to garner a large following of listeners despite having no outside support or any history of touring.

This ten-track album has songs about breaking up, doubting yourself, forgiving yourself, and moving on. “Can I Come Over” is an especially emotive and uplifting song about celebrating the small wins and acknowledging that there are people in your life who love you and want to see you happy, even when you feel like you’re doing everything wrong. St. South uses second-person language to evoke feelings of validation for the listener. Every listen leaves me with feelings of being enough.

“A Little Alive,” the eighth track off of Get Well Soon, resonates quite a bit. It deals with the feelings of being dumped and feeling like your partner hadn’t put the same effort and energy into the relationship. My favorite line states “I said ‘love is a choice’ but you think it’s a feeling and maybe it’s both but I’m sick of believing everyone will treat me how I treat them.” It poignantly depicts how easy it is to fall off of the same page with your partner. It reminds the listener that not everyone is going to be what you expect them to be and that is not your fault.

Every song is relatable in one way or another, but perhaps the most broadly relatable is the first single, released back in January, “ Does Your Brain Ever Get This Loud?” St. South uses her talents to express what so many young people have trouble getting out: those feelings of not knowing how to function or love and trust ourselves. It is a plea for someone to say they understand and that they experience those feelings of self-doubt and anxiety as well. It’s human nature to not want to feel alone and this track—and the rest of the album—proves that we never are.

Rating - 4/5