Herbal Tea - 'Submarine'
Herbal Tea’s new single ‘Submarine’ is a journey into the unknown, both sonically and emotionally.
The latest release of Bristol-based Helena Walker ventures deep into the murky waters of introspection, crafting a track that feels like it’s suspended in time and space.
From the opening notes, ‘Submarine’ pulls you deep into its hypnotic spell. The song’s production is drenched in reverb, with warm synths and rippling guitar lines which create a sense of vastness, like floating beneath the surface of a calm, yet strangely unsettling, ocean.
The vocals are delivered with a dreamy, almost detached quality, slowly drifting in and out of focus, as if the singer is submerged in her own thoughts, trying to reach the outside world.
There’s an ethereal quality to the delivery of the track, as if the singer is both present and absent at once.
In terms of lyricism, ‘Submarine’ explores the tension between retreat and resistance. It appears to symbolise a need to disconnect from the chaos of the world and find a space where silence and solitude can provide a sense of clarity.
The metaphor of the submarine works as a perfect encapsulation of the emotional landscape as it is a vessel that both shields and isolates, a way of escape, yet a reminder of distance from the rest of the world.
The lyrics ‘when will you come and save me, I’m like a submarine, I’m looking through the periscope, nobody sees me…but I despise the open,’ convey a complex tension between the desire to escape, juxtaposed with a deeper fear of the outside world.
Over time, Herbal Tea has built a special audience that connects to her music, not through algorithms or features, but through something more personal. Despite being cautious with her live performances, and with little promotion, her songs have a way of travelling. Her work is often passed along privately from musician to musician, admired for its emotional weight and rare sense of atmosphere.
The sound on this track is more refined than ever, balancing moments of calm with a subtle intensity as an undeniable sense of quiet tension builds beneath the surface.
‘Submarine’ is a track that reveals new layers with each listen, crafting an atmospheric soundscape.
The single is a musical voyage where silence speaks louder than words.
Words by Hollie Carr
