The epic "Collateral Damage" reveals an exciting new talent in FEMES

"Collateral Damage" follows last months's debut "Voices" but channels a different kind of melancholy. It's a mood piece that screams out tenderness under the veneer of a vaseline-smeared nostalgia, balanced by Lin's radically balanced use of synth – emotive, never cloying, and even mesmerising at times.

"It dives headfirst into the theme of mental health struggles and heartbreak colliding," Lin explains of the song. "Writing about the most difficult feelings is really cathartic because finding the language to describe what you are going through helps to make sense of it all and starts the healing process.

"Lyrically I believe in vulnerability, speaking about things that we sometimes struggle to communicate or are scared to say out loud. That is the core of my music, exploring sadness, anxiety and the complex emotions through lyrics on a bed of synth melodies and vocal harmonies.”

The London-based songwriter puts out her debut EP next month and it's a long time coming. Lin's pedigree has been shaped by musical training in her native Finland as a teenager plus stints in Glasgow band The Ninth Wave before joining Sundarna Karma, and then Courteeners, as a touring member. “Listening and writing music has always been a very feelings-based process for me both lyrically and sonically” she says. “I know I like a song when it makes me feel something, and sometimes I can’t even necessarily pin down what it is that creates that feeling. That’s what I’m always looking for, something that provokes deep emotion.

"I think that’s why I love layering synth sounds and vocals. They feel like the most emotional expression, almost like if feelings had a sound."