Feature: London's Eden Rain Pours Her Heart & Soul into ‘But I'm Alright Now’ EP

British singer/songwriter and artist-to-watch Eden Rain walks us through her cathartic, confessional, and unforgettable sophomore EP ‘But I’m Alright Now,’ an intimate and unfiltered set of soul-stirring diary entries full of raw passion, spirited energy, and uncompromising authenticity.

Stream: “I Found My Brain” – Eden Rain

Didn’t realise all of the space I took up ‘tll I wasn’t there anymore…

The image of Eden Rain sitting in her bedroom feels incredibly apropos for her second collection of songs; that she’s also studying herself in a compact mirror is the icing on the cake. The British singer/songwriter’s sophomore EP – released just six months after her debut – is a stunning, sweetly melodic, and achingly vulnerable set of songs diving into her psyche, her emotions, and her very being. Rain holds the metaphorical mirror up to herself in But I’m Alright Now, an intimate and unfiltered set of sonic diary entries full of raw passion, spirited energy, and uncompromising authenticity.

Simply put, these songs make introspection fun. They’re light, yet dark; tender, yet full of rough spots and edges that remind us of life’s complexity, its brutality, and its unpredictability. The real world is not (and will never be) a set of perfectly-timed, lightly edited Instagram posts; there’s no Photoshop for our emotions, and across five glistening, emotionally charged enchantments, Eden Rain dares us to dig as deep as we can – to dwell in our own warm, wondrous depths, and join her on a journey of breathtaking, soul-stirring self-reflection.

But I'm Alright Now - Eden Rain — But I’m Alright Now – Eden Rain

You don’t look like the photos
Your hair was shorter in the old ones
Sips a cold one
You let him pull up your shirt
Tie your hair tight till it hurts
I like a blank cheque girl

I know what I need doesn’t mean anything
You’re the only one having any fun for us
Why do I spend the night tryna be what you like
I can play along keep on playing dumb

I found my brain last night down the back of the sofa
I gave my best role over you as a lover
I waste my time with men who don’t give a fuck
It sucks to always be the one who’s never enough
Never enough…

– “I Found My Brain,” Eden Rain

Independently released November 24, 2023, But I’m Alright Now is a captivating display of talent – and an instantly memorable introduction to Yorkshire-born, London-based Eden Rain. Since putting out her first single just two and a half years ago, the singer/songwriter has swiftly established herself as a needle-in-the-haystack kind of artist, blending a soulful alt-pop sound with breathtaking lyrics that melt candid reflections, colorful observations, fantasy and reality all into one.

“Eden Rain doesn’t shy away from allowing herself to be seen,” Atwood Magazine‘s Adrian Vargas wrote back in March 2021, reviewing her debut. “She delves into her own mind, sharing with listeners her worst nightmares with a poetic tinge. Seldom is a debut brimming with such artistry, but “Wake Up, You’re Stuck” accomplishes this, making the name Eden Rain a new powerhouse within the industry, all with one song.”

Rain put out a steady stream of singles over the past few years, all leading up to this past May’s six-track debut EP GUTTER VISION, followed by this Autumn’s But I’m Alright Now. She had essentially doubled her repertoire in half a year’s time, and perhaps most importantly, she’s held nothing back in the process.

“I wanted to make an EP that felt like all the songs had some different stylistic sounds, but definitely came together over lyrics and melodic ideas. I love the fact there is a mix of sad and happy songs, and also just songs that don’t need to be taken too seriously,” Rain tells Atwood Magazine.

“I think it’s definitely more self assured than GUTTER VISION,” she reflects. “I’ve leant more into writing songs about myself, instead of stealing content from stories of friends’ bad dating lives,” she laughs. “Yeah, it’s definitely more intimate in parts, and I’m less stressed about putting points across about my style as an artist and more focused on just telling the story and it being good music.”

Rain’s vision for this EP was straightforward: Be true to the songs, and true to yourself.

“Honestly, I just wanted to write songs that I loved, that felt honest and felt relevant still to me,” she says. “Which meant that some songs I’d written for the EP weren’t still the right fit, but I’m really happy with the ones that are, and if anything, since releasing them they’ve accidentally become more relevant.”

**Rain calls But I’m Alright Now an energetic, thoughtful, and sincere record.**

Its title is based off a joke her dad used to tell.

“The punchline was, ‘I used to be a parrot but I’m alright now,’” she explains. “It’s a stupid joke that doesn’t make sense – and you repeat that over and over… just like a parrot repeating that phrase. Growing up I never actually understood the joke, but I went along with it. I remember being in a session earlier this year and suddenly understanding it, and calling my dad so excited to tell him! I loved the phrase ‘but I’m alright now’ – it felt like you’re convincing people that you’re better and doing well and maybe there’s a bit of that energy in the EP.”

Terry meets Julie where they began the story
But she’s got three kids and a mortgage
Terry and Julie reconnected online months ago
Their spouses are uncomfortable
It’s Terry this and Julie that
It’s driving both their partners mad
It’s not an affair, just a second too long stare
A hand on a knee or something, I don’t know

It’s been you you you all along
It’s been you you you from the start
I just slipped into a different life for a minute
but I could leave it all behind
if you would just be in it

Memorable moments abound on the sixteen-minute journey from “Terry and Julie” – a quirky, groovy, and irresistible love song about the two characters from The Kinks’ “Waterloo Sunset” – to “Ghost Girl,” the intimate and brooding finale that aches from the inside out as Rain unpacks her struggles with self-worth: Lines like “Didn’t realise all of the space I took up ’til I wasn’t there anymore” and “I’ll haunt your bones like hallways, or have you forgotten already? I’ve been gone for ten minutes” send shivers down the spine as Rain spills insecurities and fears into one beautiful confessional.

Further standouts include the smoldering self-confrontation “I Found My Brain” – an insatiably catchy upheaval, in which Rain reflects on a harmful tendency to lose herself in order to please her partner – and the smile-inducing, charming and cheeky “Pet Names,” a lush and luscious (and again, irresistible) take on how it feels to be loved and looked after by your loved ones.

I’m a tamagotchi pocket pet, a cute useless nothing,
a stupid something from Animal Crossing

Pet names, Pet Names, he gives me Pet Names.
Sweet satisfaction when he makes me his passion.
Pet names, Pet Names, he gives me Pet Names.
Tender to me like I tend to nobody.

– “Pet Names,” Eden Rain

That chorus is a personal favorite for Rain. “Although it’s simple it’s really fun to sing!” she beams. “And also in ‘All Things Change,’ the first line is, ‘New Years baby, I’m just getting older, sipping on champagne planning for a bath with the toaster,’ which, as bleak as it is, I was honestly pretty proud of myself after writing!”

The outpouring of a heavy heart brimming with love and wistful warmth, “All Things Change” is yet another must-listen bright spot in the fast-growing Eden Rain catalog. A powerfully poetic ballad with an empowering message of acceptance and understanding, “All Things Change” is as intimate as it is universal – an evergreen look at the mysterious ebbs and flows of life itself, with a cute little solution to those inevitable twists and turns: “All things change, all things pass, but I froze us in a moment – we’re never getting over it, so nothing will change with us,” Rain sings in the song’s beautiful chorus.

It’s a song that sat with Rain for a long time before seeing the light of day. “One of my favourite things is that I got to change the lyrics of ‘All Things Change’ two years after originally writing it,” she says. “My life had, in fact, changed so much that the lyrics about the issue I was struggling with wasn’t relevant anymore, which was honestly such a nice feeling.”

Two years passed and everybody came around
We spend our weekends
laughing in my parents house
The girl I am is not who I was
Outgrew my pain, leant into love
The thing that stops the hurting is
Knowing that nothings certain

All things change
All things pass
But I froze us in a moment
We’re never getting over it
So nothing will change with us

**Cathartic and confessional, But I’m Alright Now is Eden Rain at her most exposed, her most empowered, and her most unforgettable.**

A message from this writer to the artist: You’re not a ghost girl, and you never will be.

Vividly and viscerally human, Rain’s sophomore EP aches in the best (and worst) ways as she dives unapologetically into the deep end – capturing the beauty of love, the pain of change, the fear of being left out and forgotten, and so much more.

“I think about that phrase, ‘but I’m alright now’ a lot,” she shares. “It reminds me of faking it until you make it, and trying to convince everyone that you’re doing better and in a different place. I called the EP ‘but I’m alright now’ because it’s about making peace with the past. Most of the songs were written about chaotic events, difficult situations and times where I’ve felt out of control. Part of the EP is me making peace with these things and trying to show others and myself that I’m different and moved on – that I’m not just defined by a combination of bad things that have happened to me.”

“I’m proud and pleased to say that on a good day, I think I actually am ‘alright now,’” she smiles.

“The parrot joke is still a really bad joke though.”

Prepare for a full-body seduction. Experience the full record via our below stream, and peek inside Eden Rain’s But I’m Alright Now EP with Atwood Magazine as she takes us track-by-track through the music and lyrics of her latest release!

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:: stream/purchase But I’m Alright Now here ::

:: connect with Eden Rain here ::

Stream: ‘But I’m Alright Now’ – Eden Rain

:: Inside But I’m Alright Now ::

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Terry and Julie

This is written based of the imaginary lives of Terry and Julie from Waterloo Sunset but they are rewritten 30 years on as two 50 year olds who were childhood sweethearts who married other people but now reconnected. It’s a sort of weird love song about how they never stopped thinking of each other. Also made a weird AI music video to go with.

I Found My Brain

This song was written based partially on mine and partially on my friends’ dating stories. It’s about losing your brain, your identity, yourself, to fit into a partner’s view of you. I loved being able to reclaim parts of me I thought I’d lost.

Pet Names

I wrote “Pet Names” about how I sometimes feel like a little pet, being looked after the people I love. My life and brain is a little cluttered and people tend to want to help me fix it. I wrote the song about not always feeling worthy of the help people give.

All Things Change

The phrase “all things change” is literally a mantra for me. There’s nothing more comforting than the idea that no upsetting thought or feeling can last forever. When I wrote it I didn’t actually believe that things could change, but I wished they would. Two years on since writing it, my entire life is different.

Ghost Girl

I know artists by nature are often extroverted, I often see myself as introverted. sometimes I feel like I struggle to realise my worth in a situation until I’ve left it. As a person, I’m a combination of not wanting to take up too much space but also wanting no-one to forget me and everyone to be obsessed with me hahahaha… so that’s this.

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