When we named Thyla a Band To Watch way back in May of 2018, the Brighton quartet only had a handful of songs to their name. Since then, they’ve kept tweaking their sound across two EPs, 2019’s What’s On Your Mind and last year’s Everything At Once, and the occasional loose single. Most recently, they returned with the standalone track “Fade.” Today, they’re back with another new one, and this time around it’s the first glimpse of a debut album due out later this year.

Thyla’s latest is called “Breathe.” Here’s what frontwoman Millie Duthie had to say about it:

“Breathe” was written in the early hours of the morning. Eventually we chanced upon this really vibey atmospheric lick that you hear in the intro, and the whole song grew from there. The song blossomed into a slightly melancholic dream-pop bop, it’s bittersweet and has a slightly inconclusive feeling to it; imagine a film where the main character never actually gets the happy ending you’ve been so long yearning for. The result of how the instrumental sounded no doubt manifested lyrics that held the same sentiment. The song is about loneliness, estrangement from family and close friends, yet despite this, feeling a sense of inner strength about the situation. It’s like recovering from a breakup and realising you’ve come out stronger, but a reflection of the scar tissue that resulted from the trauma.

Between Everything At Once and “Fade,” Thyla seemed to be leaning more into the shimmering-then-whooshing dream-pop side of their sound after toying with a grungier aesthetic for a while. “Breathe” continues in that vein, but it also once more changes things up a little. The song doesn’t break open into a giant chorus, but instead thrums along, relying on a strange, elusive earworm of a main synth riff. It’s dreamy in a different way, and finds Thyla honing the catchier side of their songwriting. Watch director Joseph Daly’s video below.