I Can't Let Go

by Suki Waterhouse

Overview

In between her acting roles in movies such as Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016), the miniseries The White Princess (2017), and A Rainy Day in New York (2019), London native Suki Waterhouse pursued a singing career with a series of self-released singles. Hazy, pining songs including 2016's "Brutally" and 2018's "Valentine" collected millions of streams while she drew comparisons to acts like Mazzy Star and Lana Del Rey, eventually leading to a record deal with Sub Pop. Waterhouse makes her full-length debut on the label with I Can't Let Go, an album concerned with processing relationships and what went wrong. It was produced by Grammy nominee Brad Cook, who built his reputation with bands like Bon Iver and Hiss Golden Messenger before collaborating with such projects as Waxahatchee, Snail Mail, and Hurray for the Riff Raff leading up to his work with Waterhouse. I Can't Let Go opens with the words "I can't forget that night/You said I looked like Suzi Quatro in the morning light" set to gentle sustained keys and strummed guitar. The song picks up steady drums, additional vocal tracks, piano, and reinforced atmosphere in time for a chorus that makes overtures to an object of affection, while its melancholy, resigned tone implies that it didn't play out as hoped. A series of ill-fated romantic narratives follow, arranged with layers of twinkling, humming synths, echoey guitars, spare drum kit, and frowning vocals, with Waterhouse sometimes the leaver and sometimes the one left standing in the rain. Even the relatively uptempo, catchy "Bullshit on the Internet" has her tormented by a love interest's past relationship, as chronicled on social media ("When they want you back together, like a movie/And I wonder, is there any room for me?"). While heartbreak and doubt are constants here, songs including "Wild Side" add touches of country twang, and "Slip" is among tracks that dwell in a breathy high range that illuminates lyrics like "I slipped into my heart alone/I slip out of here a ghost." There are no happy endings as I Can't Let Go closes on a symbolic howl delivered by plaintive piano and staticky guitar effects. ~ Marcy Donelson

Product Details

Release Date:	08/25/2023
Label:	SUB POP
UPC:	0098787146516

Tracks

1. Moves
2. The Devil I Know
3. Melrose Meltdown
4. Put Me Through It
5. My Mind
6. Bullshit on the Internet
7. Wild Side
8. On Your Thumb
9. Slip
10. Blessed

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Suki Waterhouse   Primary Artist,Vocals
Matt McCaughan   Percussion,Drums
James Wallace   Keyboards
Brad Cook   Bass,Guitar,Keyboards
Alex Farrar   Guitar,Keyboards
Jon Ashley   Drums,Percussion
Jeremy Iylvasaker   Guitar

Technical Credits

Alli Rogers   Assistant
Jon Hume   Composer,Lyricist
Justin Parker   Composer,Lyricist
Sasha Barr   Design,Art Direction
Tiaan Williams   Composer,Lyricist
David Reuben   Composer,Lyricist
Brad Cook   Producer,Executive Producer
John Scholz   Management
Clare Maguire   Composer,Lyricist
Alexandra Denton   Composer,Lyricist
John Ashley   Engineer
Trey Campbell   Composer,Lyricist
Owen Cutts   Composer,Lyricist
Suki Waterhouse   Composer,Lyricist,Art Direction
Dana Trippe   Photography,Art Direction
Alex Farrar   Mixing,Assistant,Additional Production
Jon Ashley   Engineer
Philip von Boch Scully   Composer,Lyricist
Lux Pyramid   Composer,Lyricist,Producer
Jane Holiday   Composer,Lyricist
Tom Asapul   Composer,Lyricist
Tucker Gore   Management
Tyler Goldberg   Management
Jonathan Edward Sheppard   Composer,Lyricist
Dan Duszynski   Mixing,Additional Production
Marcus Foster   Composer,Lyricist
Taylor Locke   Composer,Lyricist
Roy Kerr   Composer,Lyricist