[Content/Trigger Warning: Eating disorder, self-harm]
Dundee-based artist Theo Bleak released her debut EP, Fragments. A collection of songs with strong introspective storytelling that take you on a journey. There’s an unnerving raw vulnerability within each song and as a whole. Each song is a fragment of Theo Bleak. By the end of the EP, we get the complete picture but the jagged seams are still exposed.
“I created Theo as a character, like an avatar I could fashion entirely. I was able to view my life more objectively from the eyes of Theo and I realised how much I’d destroyed in my life for being still so young. The whole EP is a conversation with myself, talking myself off a bridge, telling myself to eat, that no one knows what goes on inside my mind and they never would. All these fragments created who I was without Theo.”
Theo Bleak
Fragments is drenched in 90s melancholy amplified by Bleak’s jarring self-reflection. Everything is exposed from personal experiences such as an eating disorder, self harm, and family issues.
‘Fragments’, the opening title track, draws in the listener with its pensive introspective lyrics.
You are trouble
You're at the edge of a bridge
I'm trying to help you
I don't know where to begin
Wish I was behind your eyes
I don't know what you think
When we fall right in
‘Paper’ (TW: Eating Disorder) is the most personal track on the EP. Paper is fragile…easily crumbled or torn. The demon in ‘Paper’ is the eating disorder that’s always there, invading thoughts and emotions like a monster.
There’s a demon in the room
He watches what I eat
I’m begging him to stay
It’s so sad when he leaves
‘You’re Not Even Really Here’ is a relatable song that pulls you in the moment of arguing with family and finding a mental escape.
There’s light moments within this somber EP. ‘Feels Like Rain’ captures the 90s alt rock radio friendly vibe but still has Bleak’s signature cutting observations.
Fragments is a beautiful contrast against Bleak’s ongoing Seasons project (we featured ‘Spring Song’ a few months ago). We can’t wait for ‘Summer Song’. Until then, Fragments will remain on a constant loop.
Find Theo Bleak on:
LOUD WOMEN 