A buoyant, poignant upheaval of intimate feeling, Emily Blue’s cinematic single “The Afterlove” is radiant brooding at its finest: A song full of longing and lingering love, embroiled in that posthumous space between breakup and healing.
follow our Today’s Song(s) playlist
Stream: “The Afterlove” – Emily Blue
There’s something beautiful about dancing away heartache and heartbreak, and falling under the euphoric spell of songs that dwell in those darker depths. It’s a cleansing, freeing feeling; a release from those emotional chains that can all too easily bind us, wreck us, and break us down. A buoyant, poignant upheaval of intimate feeling, Emily Blue’s cinematic single “The Afterlove” is radiant brooding at its finest: A song full of longing and lingering love, embroiled in that posthumous space between breakup and healing.
We’ve said this before about Emily Blue’s music: Heartache never felt so good.
My daddy said those boys will break your heart
So I never trusted anyone
Thought I could love you but I got so lost
I just ran into oblivion
I think I’m missing out
On summer nights driving reckless with you
I’ll never live it down
Now I’m by the phone, all alone
Independently released November 26, 2021, “The Afterlove” arrives as Emily Blue’s third single of the year, and the title track off the pop singer/songwriter’s forthcoming third album, The Afterlove (set for release January 13, 2022). Following the songs “See U in My Dreams” and “7 Minutes” – the latter of which Atwood Magazine praised as “an irresistible ode to love full of big, buoyant melodies and a beautifully unapologetic, expressive energy” – “The Afterlove” finds Blue in a restless state of angst, anguish, and feverish desire. She sings about struggling with trust, and the one who made their way into her heart – only to ultimately break it, as she “ran into oblivion.”
A song touching on vulnerability and betrayal, lingering love and learning how to heal, “The Afterlove” cuts deep.
It’s a bold, bittersweet indie pop immersion. In line with her more recent singles, “The Afterlove” heavily recalls a vast ’80s pop sound; it’s yet another step in Blue’s ongoing ’80s pop revival that feels warm, welcoming, and authentically heartfelt. Blue sings the stunning chorus at the top of her lungs as deep-seated emotions pour out of her heart and into the air:
I want to call you right now
I want to let it all go just to be with you
I want to kiss you like I’m gonna die
We’re living in the afterlove
I wanna call you right now
I wanna call you right now
Speaking to us earlier this year, Blue referenced the “sparkly pop textures” of the era as a significant influence of her current art, citing Tears for Fears, Heart, Pat Benatar, Cyndi Lauper as some of her ’80s favorites. “Pretty much any ’80s hit I’ll know the words and have internalized it at some point. So it wasn’t really on purpose that I dove into this textural world, I think I’ve just been so attracted to the grandeur of it all for a while. In the 1980s they had such huge singles, huge vocals, and everything had the dynamic range of a broadway musical. I wanted to try something that felt larger than life.”
With its intimate, yet universal take on love’s aftermath – the afterlove – Blue’s new song certainly feels larger than life. It’s a song of love after love (Cher’s “Believe” is from the ’90s, but we couldn’t help ourselves), recognizing those still-active emotions and embracing them, rather than running from them or denying their presence. The narrator likely won’t get what they’re after – that is, a rekindling connection – but at least they’re speaking their truth: “I want to call you right now, I want to let it all go just to be with you, I want to kiss you like I’m gonna die…“
“‘The Afterlove’ is the title track to my record, and the last song on there that was produced by my good friend Max Perenchio,” Blue tells Atwood Magazine. “He passed away a year ago and every time I listen to it, the memories of making this flood back. It’s a bittersweet experience and also ties into the song’s themes of loss, the afterlife, and living in that space when something ends. I hold these recordings and experiences so close to my heart and hope that people can hear the magic in each track.”
I simulate the way that you make me feel
When I’m lying naked in my bed
Go back in time have our first kiss in my mind
How can I ever get over it?
I think I’m missing out
Those summer nights I just lied there with you
I never kept you around,
Now I’m by the phone, all alone
In its own way, “The Afterlove” is an anthem of intimate empowerment.
A longtime Atwood Magazine artist to watch (both as a solo artist and via the indie band Tara Terra), Emily Blue has always excelled at channeling those deepest of sentiments – from confronting trauma and sexual liberation to reckoning with grief, self-worth, and more, her art speaks to the core of our shared human experience while inviting all to join in on a musical revelry: A sonic celebration that implores us to dance like we’ve never danced before, sing like we’ve never sang before, and feel like we’ve never felt before.
It’s an irresistible allure, and one that makes us all the more excited for The Afterlove‘s forthcoming release. Get lost in Emily Blue’s music all over again below, and stay tuned for her promising third album, out January 13, 2022!
I want to call you right now
I want to let it all go just to be with you
I want to kiss you like I’m gonna die
We’re living in the afterlove
Living after love, let me break your heart
I want to call you right now
I want to let it all go just to be with you
I want to kiss you like I’m gonna die
We’re living in the afterlove
Living after love, let me break your heart
It’s a bittersweet experience and also ties into the song’s themes of loss, the afterlife, and living in that space when something ends.
— —
:: stream/purchase Emily Blue here ::
Stream: “The Afterlove” – Emily Blue
— — — —
Connect to Emily Blue on
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
Discover new music on Atwood Magazine
? © Kirsten Barnett
:: Today’s Song(s) ::
follow our daily playlist on Spotify
:: Stream Emily Blue ::
