Alternative Dundee artist Theo Bleak released her latest single Peach Sky. This soft, wispy track reflects on the themes of transience and change, offering a glimpse into her upcoming EP, Bad Luck Is Two Yellow Flowers, which is set for release on May 15, 2025.
Peach Sky tells a hazy story of self-realisation, using eerie and symbolic ideologies and metaphors to translate the story of emotional transition. The lyrics paint a surreal and dreamlike atmosphere, where the past lingers but the person of the song is starting to see themselves more clearly and truly. The imagery in “peach sky” and “stars so sharp they cut my eyes” merges discomfort with beauty that mirrors the tension between newly found clarity and nostalgia. The presence of such strange visions adds unsettling, almost ghostly character that implies the unpredictability of change. Despite this uncertainty, the repeated affirmation of “I saw myself in the best way” indicates a turning point in mentality. The song captures the exact moments, like still frames in the mind, where self-doubt breaks down and crumbles, and self-acceptance wins.
As for the instrumentals of Peach Sky, Bleak creates her dreamy, hazy soundscape that perfectly complements the song’s brooding themes. The track is built on a foundation of delicate and reverbed acoustics with some keys in the undercurrent, giving it that elegant quality. The soft and minimalist percussion adds a steady pulse, but still not overpowering to the daintiness of the instrumentals. The bassline is subtle, starting to peak through in the chorus, with its touch of distortion that adds a swelling feeling, while blending itself with the shimmer of electric guitar.
However, do not take the daintiness for complete simplicity, the layers of ambience, texture and colour are countless. The gentle synths and distant reverberated harmonies of Theo’s hauntingly gentle and airy vocals that call like a siren to a sailor on shore, pulling listeners into the song’s warm quality. The production is intentionally sparse, leaving gaps for emotion and thought to seep into every pause and note. Her use of dynamics is key to what makes it all so beautiful, the swelling of the instrumentation contrasts with the more quiet and intimate sections, reflecting on the flow of the self-reflection in Bleak’s words. The result being this haunting arrangement that lingers and fizzles through the listener’s mind, really embodying the themes of transition and self-realisation.