words by Katherine Witts

Bristol-based artist, nxanxcy, utilises her soft and eerie voice to create a captivating debut EP.

Combining elements of poetry, storytelling, and whimsical sounds, she captures the heartbreaking experience of a woman in her early twenties.

“I’ve been nothing but a girl.”

– Calendar Person,

In just 13 minutes, we’re able to get a glimpse into nxanxcy’s, formally known as Nancy, songwriting ability as she transports us into her deepest and loneliest thoughts.

‘My Acoustic Demos‘ reminds us of artists like dodie and Adrianne Lenker, with her ability to layer her soft vocals and blend them neatly together in a bow.

The spoken-word opening track, ‘Spiders,‘, and second track, ‘Calendar Person,‘, have to be my personal favourites of the EP.

“because sex never lasts and loneliness is petty”

– My Love Song,

‘Spiders,‘ is a beautiful example of a haunting opening track that grabs its listeners by their throats begging for more.

When asked about the meaning behind the track, she explained how the poem was written “about a panic attack” she experienced at her “grandparents’ old bathroom on Christmas Eve”.

She continued by revealing she had gone back home and had found out someone had just passed away which were both “scary “ things for her.

“Their (her grandparents) house is full of spiders and I was looking for them, but I couldn’t find any, only the cobwebs.”

On discussing ‘Calendar Person,‘, nxancxy states how the song is quite self-explanatory on how a young woman ends up in a toxic relationship: “I like how eerie it (the track) is.”

“I wrote this song about how strange it is that people and things still know you so well even though they’re gone.”

Closing the album is ‘That Funny Thing.’, a track that truly resonates with me on a level that is difficult to express, even more so once she explained its meaning:

“I lost a lot of hobbies, friends, relationships, and myself at one point. So in reflection, I wrote this song about how strange it is that people and things still know you so well even though they’re gone.”

She continued: “I love this song so much because it’s such a nice reflection on all those sorts of things that have happened.”

“My favourite line is “you got took away from me before I was gone, the universe never gets it wrong” because it’s a nice way to make peace with everything.”

You can listen to Nancy’s EP on Spotify here and be sure to follow her instagram to keep an eye out on hopefully more music in the future!

EP cover art (featured image) by Ruby O’Sullivan