More about: Orla Gartland

For a generation who spent their teenage years on Tumblr and Instagram, the titular character of the Woman On The Internet is somebody familiar; a stranger behind a screen who seemingly has their life together, someone who can seem like a great source of inspiration when you’re not entirely sure what you should be doing...but someone who you would benefit from breaking free of.

The way Orla Gartland navigates her way through so many different sounds on her debut record, from the indie-pop of ‘You’re Not Special, Babe’ to the almost Olivia Rodrigo-like more punk-inspired ‘Codependent’ with such grace and ease means that there is no opportunity for stagnation. At every turn, something new and exciting comes along and glimpses of Gartland’s disparate influences can be seen, while still retaining the unique folk-infused sound established in 2019’s EP Why Am I Like This and 2020’s Freckle Season.

A real standout track when it comes to the way Gartland has played with genre on this album is ‘Over Your Head’; the crashing percussion and thrashing guitars paired with the passion and urgency in the vocals truly illustrate the feeling of being out of your depth that the lyrics describe but in a much heavier punk or alt-rock way than has been previously seen. 

Orla Gartland describes Woman On The Internet, as being “about the chaos of my 20s. It's a different chaos to your late teens, such a different brand of angst. I feel so much more settled, and sure of myself now than I was when I was 18 or 19 but I'm still just half the person I'm going to be and to capture that became really important." Nowhere on the album does this feel more encapsulated than in ‘Madison’. This is the track that exemplifies the “woman on the internet” trope and really sucks you into the sense of chaotic self-discovery that the record centres around. The titular character from this song is so recognisable and tangible: everyone’s had a Madison in their life.

The biggest pitfall of this album is that the most visceral songs are in the middle of the album. Although the opening tracks are still thoroughly enjoyable, it takes a few songs to get properly drawn into the concept of the album and would lend it to being an album played on shuffle to disperse the more intense tracks evenly throughout.

Despite the volume of album songs already released as singles, they do not fully illustrate what Orla Gartland brings to the table with Woman On The Internet. The shift in focus from interpersonal relationships to the relationship a person has with theirself makes the album so accessible for listeners to relate to. The development in Gartland’s production skills also gives the songs a well-rounded, fully realised feeling where melodies match perfectly with the lyrical content. Overall, there is a cohesive narrative to the album which is easy to follow yet it is comprised of songs that stand up on their own without needing the context of the rest of the record to make them great. 

Woman On The Internet arrives 20 August via New Friends Music Ltd.

More about: Orla Gartland