After the success of her breakout EP, ‘Water-Based Lullabies’, a playful, Zodiac-inspired odyssey through life and love, Mancunian fan favourite Abbie Ozard is back with a bang. The last release hinted at an evolution in sound, and in the soon-to-drop album ‘Everything Still Worries Me’, we see all that potential realised as Ozard’s musical and personal growth is laid bare. Growing pains and the overwhelm of those first steps into adulthood of stand out as overarching themes in this more serious, introspective body of work, in which Ozard explores beyond her bedroom-pop origins and lays bare the vulnerabilities that will resonate with so many young women becoming adults in a complex, confusing and ever-changing world. Even without the transcendent vocals that could belong to no one else, Ozard is present in every second of this album – from musical performances from close friends to samples of old family videos, she is enshrined in this spellbinding debut that could not be more authentic to its creator. It will no doubt be lapped up by a supportive indie scene that has welcomed and lifted Ozard from her early outings with the likes of Lauran Hibberd, Whenyoug and Phoebe Green. She is also proving somewhat of a press darling, with glowing reviews and features in broadsheets (The Times), indie bibles (The Line of Best Fit, DORK) and music blogs. Radio support is snowballing – BBC Radio 1 are giving Ozard frequent airtime, with Jack Saunders and Huw Stephens offering consistent support and a recent Track of the Week feature for latest single ‘Ford (drive)’ on BBC Introducing. Following her first headline tour in December 2022, this year also saw her first appearance at Glastonbury Festival. Now Ozard is entering into a new era, of life and music, taking what she describes as a “more mature approach” to songwriting, drawing on her own life experiences, her hopes, anxieties and daydreams, and taking more control in the studio. This new reflection and introspection has allowed the music of Ozard’s childhood to enter the fore, with influences creeping in from New Order, The Smiths, The Cure, Debbie Harry and Bruce Springsteen. Musically, she’s turning to “more natural, organic” sounds, less programming and a focus on the live experience, writing and working with Ben Matravers and Pale Waves’ Hugo Silvani. Her debut album, Everything Still Worries Me, is set to drop in 2024 and is a celebration of love and relationships of all kinds – though particularly friendships and sisterhood, which has taken on new significance for Ozard. Lead single ‘I don’t know happiness without you’ perfectly encapsulates the struggle of navigating life in your mid-twenties – it’s a celebration of friendship as a tonic to the chaos, contradiction and confusion of life. Ozard speaks to a universal experience of growing up – of the excitement of striking out on your own, a tension between the urge to let loose and have fun, to be young, the desire to be taken seriously and the guilt of not having figured yourself out yet. A similar thread runs through the follow-up single, ‘Days like these’, which offers timely commentary on the internet as a source of connection but also comparison. Taken as a body of work, a clear theme emerges, that of being overwhelmed by life. The excitement. The optimism and hope. But also the fear, uncertainty and anxiety. These are themes that reflect a generation grappling with an intimidating, fast-paced world in which connection is everywhere but nowhere – Ozard’s voice will cut through the noise and speak to a cohort of similarly overwhelmed young people wanting, in their exhausting quest to find meaning, identity and purpose, to lose themselves for a while in music.
