Fiona-Lee’s second single, “Nothing Compares to Nineteen,” combines evocative lyrics, emotive vocals and expert production to address stubborn gender norms surrounding mental health.
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Stream: “Nothing Compares to Nineteen” – Fiona-Lee
Following the success of her debut single “Mother,” which earned support from outlets like BBC Radio 1, DIY, and Under the Radar, indie rocker Fiona-Lee continues to deliver personal, vulnerable storytelling. Her latest release, “Nothing Compares to Nineteen,” is a powerful reflection on loss, mental health, and the struggles of young adulthood.
“Nothing Compares to Nineteen” draws from personal tragedy, recounting the loss of a childhood friend at 19 and its impact on her mental health. With evocative lyrics and an emotive performance, especially on lines like “boys still don’t talk about feelings,” she highlights the differences in whether and how men and women seek help. It’s a universal struggle in the modern age.
Produced in collaboration with Matt Ingram and Rob Hall (Catfish & The Bottlemen), the track serves as a glimpse into her upcoming debut EP, slated for release in 2025.
“‘Nothing Compares to Nineteen’ is my story of growing up, and talks about some of those really hard times that a lot of young people go through,” she tells Atwood Magazine. “The title refers to when I was 19 and a childhood friend took his own life – he was the first person I’d ever lost – so the song is really a reflection on my own mental health struggles.”
As with her previous release, the chilling “Mother,” the songwriting and melody of “Nothing Compares to Nineteen” are strong and supported by the twenty-five-year-old’s inflected vocals and cutting electric guitar. (Which, by the way, she’s expert at, although you wouldn’t know it based on the number of men who’ve taken it upon themselves to tell her, unasked, just which pedals she needs to use live and just how to change tunings and keys the “right” way, without using two capos. But I digress.)
Tom Ungerer of Sam Fender’s band lends his bass to the mix, and it makes sense since Fender is one of Fiona-Lee’s big influences, both in his lyrical themes of mental health intersecting with working-class struggles, and in his driving, melodic, hook-heavy rock sensibility.
The song makes the case that despite Fiona-Lee’s tragic experience of her friend’s suicide, her response and the resulting intervention, however clinical, set her on a path of acceptance and recovery, something her friend never got to experience.
Then along came all the numbness,
my mother noticed it,
‘Cause I wasn’t at the table,
but underneath my covers crying
So she took me to the doctors,
they declared me with depression
And when we talked about fixing me up,
they went straight to head medicine.
“I guess a big take-away of the song is acknowledging the difference between men and women when it comes to reaching out for help when they’re struggling,” she says, alluding to the poignant conversation between her and her father:
Then I opened up to my father
He said he was just the same when he was seventeen.
And when I asked if someone knew that he was hurting
He said boys didn’t talk about feelings
No boys still don’t talk about feelings.
Fiona-Lee’s debut EP is set for 2025, and surely will set her up as an indie voice to watch.
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Stream: “Nothing Compares to Nineteen” – Fiona-Lee
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