Album Review: Orla Gartland - 'Woman On The Internet'
Dublin’s finest Orla Gartland releases her colourful new album Woman On The Internet.
Now living in London, singer/songwriter and producer Orla Gartland has released her debut album Woman on The Internet. Since her 2015 EP ‘Lonely People', she has racked up an impressive 750,000 monthly listeners on Spotify who have been waiting patiently for the first album.
Woman on the Internet is like an unfiltered stream of thoughts, talking more openly and honestly than most can or would about family, love and herself.
The opening track ‘Things That I’ve Learnt’ is like an introduction the album telling us what to expect to hear about. “These are the bridges that I’ve burnt, these are the things I’ve learnt”. Life lessons with Orla Gartland, wrapped up in 11 tracks with staccato guitars, melancholic synths and playful melodies.
Orla began uploading videos to YouTube at 14 before moving to London age 19, a move which was inspired by “blind confidence, faith in the universe, and encouragement from the small audience I did have online.”
The album takes us through the journey of growth and learning whilst being in your 20’s. Despite its harsh sounding title ‘You’re not Special, Babe’ focuses on not wallowing on the hard times and realising you’re not in this alone, because we all have bad days. Opening with a vocoder effect, we’re instantly commanded to listen to the dark melodies which Gartland is known for, whilst placing these over uplifting instrumental parts to balance and play with our emotions.
The self-effacing and witty lyrics continue through tracks such as Madison – ‘Yes I could be happier, Yes I could be less of a dick’ and calling herself a cliché in ‘Bloodlines/ Difficult things’.
Throughout the process of creating her 2020 EP Freckle season, Orla realised how important it was to her to be involved in every aspect of the creative process and became wrapped up in learning production to make sure her songs sounded exactly how she imagined. ‘Woman on the Internet’ was written during the first lockdown of 2020 at her studio and later recorded at Middle Farm Studios in Devon with co-producer Tom Stafford.
The ‘Woman on The Internet’ is described by Orla as “a caricature; a nameless, faceless figure telling me to eat better or buy some specific hair product; when I feel low I'm so vulnerable to questionable advice. The woman appears in these songs as someone I look to for guidance when it feels like no one in my real life can help, when I'm truly lost. A lot of this album is about learning to really own that lostness."
The album twists and turns from piano electronica single ‘Do You Mind’ which seamlessly leads into ‘Codependency’ with 60’s surf inspired harmonies set against rocky guitars. Punk/ Alt - Rock tracks like Over Your Head deliver fuzzy bass and explosive vocal melodies whilst softer folky tracks such as ‘Left Behind’ begin with Orla speaking the words ‘Alright, lets go’ before the piano begins. This small detail makes the album feel even more intimate like we’re there in the studio listening to her count in, holding our attention and making us listen closer to hear all the layers and effects which have all been carefully considered.
Cleverly moving between alt-rock, folk and synth pop we’re given something new and inspiring, although Gartland sites influences in leading ladies such as Haim, Phoebe Bridgers and St Vincent.
Throughout the album, Orla Gartland has mastered the art of making me want to bop my head to a song that’s simultaneously breaking my heart. Outro track ‘Bloodline/Difficult things’ tackles growing up in Dublin living with her mother and speaks openly about how it feels to have left home and find new things for herself. Samples of her parents calling her name on a tape-recording during what sounds like a family party followed by closing repeated lyrics ‘I don’t wanna run away but you, you don’t get me. I keep it all in, we never talk about difficult things’.
This brave and bold debut album shows us the importance of embracing your emotions and accepting them, rather than burying them, through syncopated rhythms and joyful melodies and we can't wait to listen on repeat.
Words by Tamara Grzegorzek