British/German songwriter Vanessa Anne Redd last appeared on these pages back in 2019. That was around the release of her second album, Zumbo Waxes, a record she described as a, “gothic folk fairy-tale of sin and salvation”. Two years on Vanessa is building towards the release of her third solo record, Sweet Way Around, and today is sharing the latest single from it, DC Drawers.

Describing the track, Vanessa has suggested DC Drawers is, “a story of angelic youth’s high and lows”, a track that muses on themes of innocence, beauty, body image and the age of voyeurism. Musically, the track is a woozy acoustic number, somewhere between bar room-balladeering and bedroom introspection. Atop the musical backing, Vanessa’s vocal shifts from a subtle beginning to an urgent tumble of lyrics, as she dissects societal pressure with withering aplomb, “it’s that difficult age when all the world’s a stage and the truth is so much thinner”.

As with much of Sweet Way Around, DC Drawers was initially written in France before evolving as Vanessa travelled across Europe. A song that seeks to fuse the joys of nature and travel, with the culture and songwriters who influence Vanessa from Joni Mitchell through to Leonard Cohen. Living up to its title, this is an album that searches for the sweet way, trying to navigate the twists and turns life throws her way and discover empowerment and self-expression along the winding road. This is the start of Vanessa’s latest journey and on this evidence, it is one on which you’re going to want to join her for every fascinating step.

Sweet Way Around is out September 10th via Sharp Attack Records. For more information on Vanessa Anne Redd visit https://www.sharpattackrecords.co.uk/vanessa-anne-redd.