Premiere: EVER’s Beautifully Bittersweet “Counting Flowers” Is a Stirring, Poignant Love Letter

A stirring, poignant love letter to her grandmother, “Counting Flowers” radiates with heartache and acceptance as British singer/songwriter EVER beautifully depicts life’s change.

Stream: “Counting Flowers” – EVER

Said you’re breaking up with time; stop believing in her stories…

There’s no turning back the clocks, just as there’s no altering time’s course. Life moves in one direction, which means we will eventually be met with some heartbreaking changes in our daily routines and dearest relationships. Of these “upheavals” (as I will call them), one of the most truly earth-shattering is the disruption between parent and child, when someone who once took care of you now needs you to take care of them. This is more than a simple transition: It’s painful on a deeper plane, and can often feel mind-boggling, a complete discombobulation – yet though our needs and responsibilities toward one another may change, that doesn’t impact who we are to one another. British singer/songwriter EVER captures this transforming relationship in her new single. A stirring, poignant love letter to her grandmother, “Counting Flowers” radiates with heartache and acceptance as EVER beautifully captures life’s change.

You’ve known me all along
Counting flowers in the garden
Til’ morning walks into noon
Then I call for you to come
You speak in poetry
Wait for me to fall asleep until
Slowly closing my door
Then I call

I don’t wanna go
Stay a little longer
Cycles will change the way that they move
But deep down I know you’re the same

Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering “Counting Flowers,” EVER’s first single of 2020 (out September 18 via Yada Yada Records) and her first release since last year’s debut EP Golden Hour. A British singer/songwriter with a voice of gold and the lyrical wit to match, EVER (aka Louise Smith) made a fast and strong introduction last year with the dynamic “Bloom,” which was closely followed by singles “Close” and “Indigo Sky.”

“It’s hard to say whether it’s the track’s sensational lyricism, atmospheric production or spectacular vocals that makes “Bloom” so heavenly enthralling,” Atwood Magazine’s Luke Pettican wrote in an August interview with EVER. “But it’s safe to say the way in which those elements gorgeously coalesce with one another makes EVER’s “Bloom” one of the most strikingly impactful debut songs in recent memory.”

“Counting Flowers” continues to showcase EVER’s musical radiance and majesty, finding her dwelling in depths of reflection and human connection while building upon her stunning alt-pop sound. Working with long-time collaborator Scott Verrill (better known as alt-pop artist kwassa), EVER transforms an acoustic guitar-and-vocals song into a buoyant and pulsing outpouring with fat bass notes, ambient soundscapes, and feverish harmonies full of weighted energy. Her lyrics observe her changing relationship with a family member as they age, and she comes to care for them as they once cared for her. It’s a reckoning with the life cycle – the kind of recognition that brings bittersweet tears to the eyes of those who have experienced this inevitability.

“I don’t wanna go – stay a little longer,” EVER pleads with time and her grandmother alike in a hearty, intoxicatingly catchy chorus; she just wants a little more time with the norm as she once knew it, but sadly that balance has shifted and won’t shift back. Heavenly oohs coalesce in the chorus with celestial force as EVER emphasizes the depth and limitlessness of love. “Cycles will change the way that they move, but deep down I know you’re the same.” EVER can’t help but lament these changes outside of her control, but she still recognizes the person she’s with as someone she’s known and loved all her life.

The second verse dives deeper into that longing for connection and togetherness:

Said you’re breaking up with time
Stop believing in her stories
Lost in that warm moonlight
Then I call for you to come
Place your fingertips on mine
Now we’re speaking eye to eye so clear
Words beating through your heart
When I call

I don’t wanna go
Stay a little longer
Cycles will change the way that they move
But deep down I know you’re the same

“‘Counting Flowers’ shares a personal story between my Grandmother and I. The main narrative is the experience of having to look after those who once looked after you, and although it can be a painful transition, I feel extremely lucky to have been given the opportunity to reciprocate the unconditional love I was given as a child,” EVER tells Atwood Magazine. “Creatively this song pushed me to discover a new side to my sound that is more understated and refined than my first releases – something that I definitely want to explore further. One of the more challenging elements with this song was finding that balance lyrically, between sharing enough of the story and the memories for others to connect to, whilst keeping some just for myself. Hopefully, I got it right!”

Cycles will change the way that they move, but deep down I know you’re the same…

EVER’s song and story are universal; “Counting Flowers” turns an inescapably difficult experience into a profound musical and emotional immersion.

It’s a testament to EVER’s incredible talents that she can inject such warm rays of light and understanding into this personal retelling; that she finds a way to turn even that which brought her pain into an expression of unabating love. Ultimately when we hear “Counting Flowers,” we are listening to a humbling love song: A real-life depiction of the kind of familial love that transcends time and place. This is the kind of song that makes one want to remind their relatives how much they are loved; that makes us want to dwell in the depths of our own nostalgias. Stream “Counting Flowers” exclusively on Atwood Magazine!

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Stream: “Counting Flowers” – EVER

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? © Marcus Rexford

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