Wynona toy with personality clichés on "Real World"

Made up of partner duo Natalie and Rich, Wynona has navigated the challenges posed by lockdown and restrictions in their working relationship. Previously living in Osaka, Japan, the pair uprooted their plans due to the impact of the pandemic and decamped to a new base in the Lake District – where they lived in a friend’s 19th-century country hotel.

“We had little on us, other than a change of clothes, a guitar and there was an antique grand piano in the hotel's music room. Looking out over the snow-covered hills that surrounded us, and wandering the empty hotel at night, it really felt like something from The Shining,” shares Natalie.

Still, the secluded nature of their new environment provided a rich backdrop for writing sessions. Having mapped out their expressive songwriting, “Real World” continues their sonic journey, creating rootsy-pop in their newfound home.

“We were encouraged by a friend and the owner of the hotel to take some time and write and that’s pretty much exactly what we did. ‘Real World’ began life during this writing period.”

Wynona recall indie-pop tradition as well as new textures in their decade-spanning sound. Calls to Alanis Morrissette brushes against Pale Waves, with surprising and subtle nods to bedroom-pop and lo-fi bubbling along under the surface.

The impact of everything in Wynona coming together makes “Real World” an anthemic listen, in a way that’s still gentle and warm. “Maybe I wasn’t made for the real world” could easily double up as a teenage cliché, but delivered in Natalie’s effortlessly gorgeous alto it sounds nothing but authentic and openheartedly honest.

“On ‘Real World' I'm celebrating all aspects of my personality, even though they can sometimes conflict and contradict one another."

“We all struggle with identity and authenticity, especially at a time when we put ourselves on display for all to see and for others to judge. This song is for anyone who feels like they don’t fit into any perfect mould; it is okay to be anything, all things and nothing all at once.”