Rose Gray courts 90s liberation in new single "Save Your Tears"

Packed with acid-fuelled nineties-nostalgia and tinged by a distinctively psychedelic jangle, "Save Your Tears" is the vivacious new single by London-based talent Rose Gray. A classic dance-floor anthem, the track feels somewhat haunting as Gray effortlessly belts out lyrics about a time gone by; a time when drinking, dancing and partying past 10pm was not only usual, but legally possible.

The accompanying video - having been shot in late February, pre-lockdown - only adds to this sense of nostalgia. Featuring Gray and her friends on a night out, the group saunter and dance their way through the London tube network and in (shock, horror) nightclubs; at this point in time, the lack of social distancing and mask-wearing feels quite alien.

“Just watching it makes me feel nostalgic, it feels like a different time,” reflects Gray. "It was shot sunset to sunrise- a classic manic night out with my friendship group. We snuck a camera into the club. We didn’t sleep. We ran through Oxford Circus singing and dancing and ended up on the Thames beach in Deptford for 6am. I was wearing a dress fit for a princess on the tube. It was crazy. I wanted to capture a night out with my friends - the energy and the madness that we all have. I think we did that.”

Despite the obvious sadness that comes with this retrospective image, in its boldness of sound and effortlessly nonchalant aesthetic, "Save Your Tears" is a glorious and uplifting sonic reminder of those nights gone by and, indeed, to look forward to. “I love this song. I've loved it from the moment I first came into the studio and wrote it. It started as lyrics/a poem on my phone about my best friend going through some shit, and how I wished we both could just go out partying and forget it all - and so we did.

"I wanted to capture that escaping everyday's madness,” Gray concludes. "I love 90s dance music - the soulful melodies, the samples, the orchestra elements, break beats and somehow entwining all these elements and bringing it into the 21st century became my mission. ‘Save Your Tears' is the kind of song I've always imagined myself making.”