Laoise Fitzgerald – How To Swallow Spiders
[Self-Release]
One of the most frustrating aspects of grief is how the world continues on around you as you try to reckon with unfathomable pain. As W.H. Auden wrote, “About suffering they were never wrong, The Old Masters: how well they understood / Its human position; how it takes place / While someone else is eating or opening a window or just walking dully along.”
On How to Swallow Spiders, the debut EP from Laoise Fitzgerald, the Dublin-born musician seeks to give these solemn moments their proper weight, carving out the time to grieve wholly. The resulting six tracks are as dramatic as they are moving, capturing the inner emotional turmoil that’s often swept under the rug as daily life insists we move forward.
Fitzgerald’s classical training is apparent in her exquisite voice, but she makes idiosyncratic choices that keep listeners on their toes. Intro features a man speaking menacingly, his speech distorted at times to the point that it’s demonic, which sets the tone for the haunting songs ahead. Fitzgerald’s vocals are hypnotic over Before We Face the Morning’s sinister piano, muted whispers and thundering percussion add to the dread building throughout. Elsewhere, Nothing Comforts Me will resonate with anyone who’s been mired in depression, while Once More to Try sounds comparatively hopeful.
On the title track, the EP’s message comes into focus: Fitzgerald sings about finding a way to live with her grief, taking things day by day. How to Swallow Spiders is an exercise in catharsis that gives listeners the space to feel their anguish.
Words: Clare Martin
