Rona Mac - 'Pennies'
‘Pennies’ embodies heartbreak and wanderlust caught within the strings of sweet guitar melodies and vocal layers. It’s one of those tunes you’d want to take to a picnic on the moon, to help remind you of Earth.
Rona Mac has cornered a raw, almost lo-fi sound and it seems to me like the song would prove incomprehensibly popular with one of those YouTube ‘slowed and reverbed’ edits. ‘Pennies’ is a partner stroking your hair softly, or kissing under the setting sun in a quiet spot made for just the two of you. Mac captures the ‘rolling hills and idyllic rural fields’ of her Welsh abode with minimalistic instrumentation to show off this up-and-coming artist’s wide range and talent for harmonic complexity. She says, “This song is about weighing up and juggling many things, caught in a frenzy of 5 jobs, being broke and a bit broken, and considering moving in with my girlfriend 1 month into the relationship to save on money, rather than waiting for the right time. I felt I was losing myself in a rising tide.” Almost creating a juxtaposition with the mellow melodic content with the frantic lyrical content.
The haunting beauty of this track is Rona Mac’s “signature voice” which carries the majority of both the building blocks to the song, and the leading element. You can hear how the Welsh countryside has influenced her music; it is both homely and expansive and you can imagine taking a moment to breathe wherever you are in the world whenever this gorgeous ambient-inspired track comes on your playlist. What’s even more impressive is Mac’s relatively new introduction on the scene. She has only been releasing music since 2020 and has managed to curate her own sound, and corner the alternative indie/dream pop scene with support from Radio 1 and going on tour already. Her shooting to those milestones in such a short time surely says she is something special. “Pennies” is out 2nd of September and be sure to keep an eye out for more to come from this trailblazing talent.
Words by Mary Cooke
