Lotion Princess faces the avoidance and panic of a whirlwind romance on the urgent "In the Summer"

Sasha Elisabeth started making music as Lotion Princess following the worst break-up of her life. That was 2016 and now in 2020, with the help of her bandmates, Lotion Princess is more than just a vessel for her emotions. Led by Elisabeth's deeply personal songwriting Lotion Princess explores queer love stories, mental health, multifaceted relationships and where these experiences meet in the middle.

New single "In the Summer" is one of those songs which finds itself at this complex intersection. Laughing to herself as the lyrics came together, "the words spilled out pretty effortlessly" Elisabeth explains. "It was the kind of creating that feels instantly therapeutic and you know you’re onto something. I’d been processing the dissolution of an involvement I had with someone earlier that summer. It wasn’t a relationship, but I’m not entirely sure what to call it. There was so much conflict inside me around this dynamic. So much yearning and so much hurt."

During the process of writing the track, Elisabeth realised that the anger she channels while trying to let go of this torturous time wasn't just from this albeit brief, but significant period. From dissociating through her years in college and relationships with cis men, struggling with anxiety and depression, as she realised she was gay Elisabeth also began to realise she could find the same type of love and relationships her peers were throwing themselves into. "Those experiences are still programmed into me and I know I’m not alone in unlearning all the crap that I took on during those years... it’s a release of years of anger and hurt," she says.

The resulting is something which is sure to do what Elisabeth hopes it will "[help] other people let go of their own toxic entanglements and move onto healthier relationships – both with themselves and with other people." From its enchanting guitar arrangement to the honest voice narrating her feelings through this rose-coloured sonic glow, the juxtaposition "In the Summer" offers is healing in itself.