Charlotte OC takes us track-by-track through ‘Seriously Love, Go Home,’ a raw and radiant reckoning that lays her soul bare in five unforgettable songs. The British singer/songwriter hasn’t just returned – she’s reclaimed herself, turning heartbreak, chaos, and surrender into a smoldering, soul-stirring triumph.
Stream: “Romeo” – Charlotte OC
I wanted this record to sound like truth. It didn’t have to be perfect or polished – it just had to be real. And somewhere along the way, I found myself again.
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“I made a scene at the party – I drank too much. You said we’ll talk in the morning; we didn’t touch…”
So begins a heartbreak in slow motion – confessional and cinematic, raw and resplendent. Charlotte OC has never shied away from vulnerability, but on Seriously Love, Go Home, she cuts deeper than ever before. The Blackburn singer/songwriter’s first body of work in nearly five years is a smoldering, spellbinding exhale – a bold and unfiltered reckoning with grief, love, chaos, and control. All five songs are quintessential Charlotte OC: Dramatic, passionate, soulful, seductive, and larger than life – yet shot through with haunting fragility and unflinching truth. They glow with the weight of lived experience, wrapped in golden, vintage-stained textures and delivered with a voice that aches, howls, and hums in equal measure. Seriously Love, Go Home is the sound of surrender – not to darkness, but to the light that comes from letting go.
About time
I feel like I’ve known you my whole life
Did meet you in my mind?
I didn’t think
We’d be drunk on one another
Both our names were written in the vodka
So good this feelings out of order
Romeo
Met your match in me late night Lothario
This love was you best bad of idea
I’ve never laughed this much I swear
When I saw in you the mirror
I wasn’t sure I’d find you there
– “Romeo,” Charlotte OC
Few artists deliver emotional extremes quite like Charlotte OC. The British artist (née Charlotte Mary O’Connor) has long dwelled in the space between grandeur and grit, balancing lavish arrangements with lyrical intimacy and vocal performances that smolder, soar, and scar. A two-time Atwood Editor’s Pick, she’s been praised for “owning her grief, her messiness, and the undeniable beauty of trying,” and for creating “beautiful, dramatic, and moving soundtrack[s] to the human spirit.” Across her 2017 major label debut Careless People and 2021’s masterful, independently-concocted Here Comes Trouble, O’Connor has established herself as a fearless force – a modern siren conjuring cinematic soul from the depths of human ache. Released July 11th via Embassy of Music, Seriously Love, Go Home doesn’t just continue that legacy – it crystallizes it, distilling her artistry into five gut-punching tracks that soar with heart, honesty, and heat.
The EP’s title says it all – and yet, it barely scratches the surface. “After a few things blew up in my face while I was living in London, it felt like the universe was screaming at me to go home,” O’Connor explains. “Not quietly either like, ‘Seriously mate….you’re a big mess, go home.’ So I did.”
“I was definitely in a self-destruct spiral,” she adds. “I think I moved to London to run away – officially I was supposed to be in sessions, but everything was just falling apart and I wasn’t dealing with anything.”
Leaving the big city for Blackburn gave O’Connor the space she needed to, as she puts it, have a word with myself and sort my s*** out.”
“And since coming back, so many beautiful things have happened! The title came from that moment of surrender I guess, where I finally listened.”
The road to Seriously Love, Go Home was far from straightforward. These songs began to take shape during a creatively unmoored period. A chance studio session with Grammy-nominated producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Dimitri Tikovoi (whose past credits include Charli XCX, Blondie, Purple Disco Machine, and Ghost) became the unexpected spark for her next chapter. “When I first met Dimitri, we had this really honest conversation about where I was at, what had been holding me back, and what I felt I needed to do next,” she recalls.
“We ended up making music later that day, and there wasn’t any big plan or motive. I think we both just agreed to let whatever needed to happen, happen. At the time, I felt quite lost and in desperate need of an outlet. These songs ended up being the result of that strange, uncertain period.”
“After a while, I had the tracks just sitting there. I didn’t have management, I didn’t really have a plan, and I hadn’t even listened back to them. To be honest, I’d kind of given up. The people closest to me could see I was losing purpose, so they booked a little trip to the Lake District to help shake me out of the rut I’d gotten comfortable in.”
“After a few incredible days up there, I started talking about the music again. I even played some of it and remember saying, ‘This isn’t that shit, is it?’ — haha. From there, I emailed my label and told them I had a plan: I wanted to put this EP out. It was a pretty funny email… I’d just eaten some chocolate mushrooms, so it was full-on. But they said yes. Soon after, I met my new management, and now we’re here. I guess, in some weird way, I have the shrooms to thank for kickstarting it all.”
Songwriting has long been O’Connor’s means of processing the world – and her feelings.
While there wasn’t a grand vision when she began working on these songs, there was a need to exorcise her demons – and music became her way forward. “At the start, there wasn’t really a vision beyond survival,” she shares. “I needed an outlet. As I started writing, I realised I wanted this record to sound like truth. It didn’t have to be perfect or polished – it just had to be real. And somewhere along the way, I found myself again.”
That clarity, as refreshing as it is still raw, fuels every corner of this EP. These songs don’t posture or pretend – they bleed. They’re rooted in lived experience, personal growth, and artistic renewal. “It’s unlocked something in me,” O’Connor says. “I’ve been writing a lot lately, and releasing these tracks has made me realise what I’m really here for. I feel closer than ever to my purpose as an artist. This EP is the start of a new chapter and a new kind of confidence in my work. It’s made me fall back in love with music again, and I’m just so grateful for that and buzzing for what’s next!”
O’Connor beams as she calls this EP “just the beginning” – and in truth, there’s lots to love about her spiritual and creative rebirth. Seriously Love, Go Home is a compact but powerful offering, capturing the arc of a heartbreak and the journey back to self. Opener “God, We Tried” sets the tone with stunning vulnerability, lingering in the ruins of a love that was never going to last. “From the soul-shaking cries of ‘God, we tried’ to the aching acceptance of ‘we just need to bleed,’ O’Connor’s words are heavy, weighted down by emotional turmoil – dark storm clouds that have yet to clear up,” we previously wrote for an Atwood’s 117th Editor’s Picks.
It’s a personal highlight for her as well. “I loved making it,” she says of “God, We Tried.” “It fell out of me like it had always been there. The lyrics are straight to the point, not trying to be fancy, it’s just very literal and the emotion in my voice takes me back to how much of a state of I was in around that time, I’m proud that none of that got lost in the process.”
I made a scene at the party
I drank too much
You said “We’ll talk in the morning”
We didn’t touch
If I don’t laugh, I’ll probably cry
Who’s gonna run your bath tonight?
God, we tried, didn’t we?
Nothing lasts forever
Especially you and me
They say time is all we need
I’m sick of hearing it’s a healer
We just need to bleed
“Romeo” is its mirror – an “unconventional love song about two wrong’uns making a right,” it’s a gutsy, emotionally charged liberation and reckoning all at once, capturing the chaos of loving someone who sees all your mess and doesn’t flinch. The searing, hot n’ heavy “Cider and Black” embraces destruction like a badge of honor – O’Connor calls it her self-destruct anthem. “It’s about doubling down on your chaos,” she smirks. “That phase where you’re basically a functioning warning sign – and kind of enjoying it. But underneath it all, it’s a mess. You’re hurting, and you’re hurting people along the way.”
Meanwhile, “The Letter” and the EP’s breathtakingly beautiful closer “Strange Influence” exposes the aching vulnerability of regret and remembrance. Together, these five songs form a fearless and cathartic self-portrait – messy, magnificent, and magnetic in all the ways Charlotte OC has always been.
Charlotte OC’s songwriting has always balanced the visceral with the poetic, and Seriously Love, Go Home is no exception. Her favorite lyrics from the EP reflect the duality at the heart of this record: Sensuality, sorrow, surrender, and strength. “You levitate my heart until it’s in my mouth. You elevate the art of what I cannot live without,” she sings on “Strange Influence” – a line that captures the ache and intoxication of emotional entanglement. From the hot, unhinged energy of “Cider and Black” comes the searing image: “Thursday, angel, you’re facing the wall. Your whole body shakes like a Super 8 ball.”
Elsewhere, she expresses deep devastation in “The Letter”: “Burn my words, oh Lord, what have I done / My foolish tongue…” and haunting, harrowing, romantic intimacy in “Romeo”: “My words laid bare, and so are yours / You’re mine, I’m yours.” Each lyric reveals a new aperture into the O’Connor’s world – one that’s both unraveled and fiercely self-aware.
Triumphant in its vulnerability and radiant in its resolve, Seriously Love, Go Home is a powerful reminder that beauty often grows from our lowest points.
Charlotte OC has emerged from the chaos not only intact, but reignited – her artistry sharpened, her voice clearer than ever, and her passion fully restored. This EP doesn’t just mark a return; it’s a reawakening – a bold, brave reclaiming of self through sound.
“I hope it reminds people that it’s okay to come undone and start over – that there’s no shame in going home to regroup,” O’Connor shares.
“For me, making this record helped me remember who I am. It showed me that I can still find magic in myself and in music, even after everything I thought I’d lost. And I really did feel like I’d lost it all. It’s taught me to trust myself again and also, mum is where the heart is.”
Charlotte OC has always made music that speaks to the soul, but Seriously Love, Go Home hits deeper – not because it tries to, but because it simply tells the truth. Her songs don’t just chronicle a chapter of heartache, healing, and growth; they live it. They pulse with pain, resilience, and grace, delivered through a voice that knows how to shatter and soothe in the same breath. It’s Charlotte OC at her most raw, most radiant, and most real – standing tall in the wreckage, singing her way back to life.
Experience the full record via our below stream, and peek inside Charlotte OC’s Seriously Love, Go Home EP with Atwood Magazine as she goes track-by-track through the music and lyrics of her latest release!
There’s no grand gesture here, just five songs that bleed truth – a stunning, unfiltered return from an artist who’s never sounded more herself.
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:: stream/purchase Seriously Love, Go Home here ::
:: connect with Charlotte OC here ::
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‘Seriously Love, Go Home’ – Charlotte OC
:: Inside Seriously Love, Go Home ::
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God We Tried
This song moves through the quiet, painful process of knowing when something has to end. Whether it’s a friendship or a relationship, there comes a time when holding on does more damage than letting go. It’s full of flashbacks, a bit of bargaining, and a final moment of acceptance. It’s hard, but sometimes, it’s the most loving thing you can do.
Romeo
This is an unconventional love song about two wrong’uns making a right. It’s about finding someone who sees all your mess and doesn’t flinch. That kind of raw honesty between two people can be powerful and a little dangerous, but if you’re both brave enough, it’s worth it. Romeo captures that tension: love and chaos, desire and destruction, all coexisting.
The Letter
This song was inspired by a painting I own called The Letter, but really, it’s about saying something you instantly regret and hoping they never read it. That panicked moment, staring at your phone, knowing you’ve sent too much but still not pressing delete. It’s a sad one, because it speaks to the times when we can’t quite say what we mean, so we bury it all instead and pretend we’re fine.
Cider and Black
This song is about self-destruction. When the chaos you’re creating becomes your whole identity and you almost wear it like a badge of honour. It’s the version of yourself that tells the world “look how broken I am,” even if deep down you know you’re desperate to feel something else. It’s heavy, but real.
Strange Influence
This is about my dog, who I lost last year. He was unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. I needed to document that love so I’d never forget him. Whenever I hear this song, I see his face, and honestly, that’s all I ever wanted from writing it.
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:: stream/purchase Seriously Love, Go Home here ::
:: connect with Charlotte OC here ::
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© Stewart Baxter
© Stewart Baxter:: Str eam Charlotte OC ::
