Caitlin Pasko documents exquisite grief on “Me Alone”

“Me Alone” opens with delicate, folky vocals, which swiftly broaden as the guitar beneath them is briefly abandoned for dark swells of piano. It’s a track that shoulders a heavy emotional burden, as part of Pasko’s upcoming Glass Period EP, chronicling life in the wake of her father’s unexpected passing. Where previous single “Barking Dog” stemmed from a more meditative headspace, “Me Alone” sees Pasko free-falling into towards an emotional nadir. Grief in all its horrible splendour is as much a part of the fabric of the track as the piano holding it desperately together - in fact, the pair almost seem like opposing forces, with the sheer force of anguish threatening to tear the song limb from limb throughout.

Pasko’s intuitive songwriting and spellbinding musicianship abound throughout, but the saxophone solo from Arnan Raz that unexpectedly haunts the final part of the song is a highlight that simply necessitates mention. “Me Alone” is a marriage of conflicting elements and influences with a raw sorrow that demands to be felt. It is at once electric, unnerving, and exquisite.