Last month, Katie Gately announced a new album, Fawn / Brute, and shared its pair of title tracks, one of which made our best songs of the week list. Today, she’s back with a new one called “Cleave.”

“‘Cleave’ is about getting a whiff of someone else’s Scahdenfreude and recognizing the only place to run is far, far away,” Gately said. “I wrote it as I was mustering up the courage to extricate myself from a friendship that was becoming increasingly and perplexingly hostile.” She continued:

While I’ve always loved big, brash heartbroken pop songs, I’ve often wished more of them would probe the murky landscape of platonic fractures. I decided to use my own friendship-heartbreak as an offering into this slippery realm. 
 
My hope is the song might nudge the listener to stick up for themselves when someone else is hoping they will stay small. Even though this choice can be terribly impractical and lonely, it’s often one of great relief.

Listen below.

Fawn / Brute is out 3/31 via Houndstooth.