‘The Girl That You Loved Before’ is out now, the latest in a line of singles taken from Joanne Shaw Taylor‘s forthcoming studio album The Trouble With Love, which will be with us on Friday 23rd October through Journeyman Records.
Joanne Shaw Taylor returns and brings with her that infectious chiming rhythm guitar groove of hers, alongside the welcome return of her deeper-toned soulful vocals, on new single ‘The Girl That You Loved Before’. There’s also a little country rock sway in there, all of which disarms the listener, because their desire to get up and dance is frustrated by the bittersweet lyrics that look back on why lovers go their separate ways. May I suggest you get up and dance those blues away regardless, but do listen out for some understated lyrical guitar soloing along the way.
Released alongside a cinematic new official music video, the song finds Taylor looking back on a past relationship through the distance of time, exploring the nostalgia, unanswered questions, and lingering connection between two people who intimately once knew each other.
“This song came from looking back at past relationships and realising how much we change over time,” Taylor revealed. “It’s about being remembered for who you were, not necessarily who you are now. I wrote it to explore that nostalgia, that longing, and the bittersweet ache it brings.”
Those feelings come into sharp focus through the song’s central question: “Who am I if I’m just a girl you loved before?” Elsewhere, Taylor wonders how two people who were once deeply connected could eventually become strangers, capturing the disorienting experience of looking back at a relationship and trying to understand where that former version of yourself fits into the person you have become.
The accompanying official video gives the song an appropriately cinematic setting, moving between the guitarist performing the track and solitary moments in a dimly lit bar. The imagery complements the song’s reflective mood, creating the feeling of being caught between the present and memories that continue to surface long after a relationship has ended.
The song offers another taste of Taylor‘s forthcoming, Kevin Shirley-produced album The Trouble With Love.
