Spotlight: Maple Glider Enchants You With New Track and Video "Swimming"

Q&ASpotlightMusic

Apr 16

☆ By PATRICK ZAVORSKAS ☆

THEY WILL STILL BE WRITING ABOUT HER AFTER ALL THESE YEARS — they will still be mentioning how Maple Glider (also known as Melbourne’s Tori Zietsch) is a force to be reckoned with. Despite having only released three singles since the end of 2020, it seems as if Glider has been present within the music scene for many years prior. Her voice trembles with a noir-ish attitude — mixing drops of Bobbie Gentry’s somber tone with the stark seriousness of Laura Marling. On the surface, Glider’s music harks a softness and sensuality, in which she constantly circumnavigates the balance of love and acceptance for others. But when you sit down and talk to her, you find yourself in the presence of a charmingly witty, humorous, and lively person you feel as if you have known for years.

As it was, I have been following Maple Glider’s work since the release of her first single, “As Tradition,” finding it to draw a comparison to the early work of Tori Amos. The song creeps in with a hushed vocal, quivering with intimacy and meditation that is full of tiny touches and nuances breaking the mold of what was done before. It blends the genre of singer-songwriter with Americana, folk-pop melody, drawing upon dark memories and moments of her religious upbringing with a past romantic relationship.

“I'd kind of disconnected my religious upbringing from my identity,” she says in discussing the song. “I just sort of blocked it and chose to not think about it, or talk about it. I truly separated my religion from who I was — and because of it, I then went through all these extreme experiences of anger and sadness. I began to realize how much of that past experience had affected who I am, and (or how) I've approached relationships or like, so many things.”

To me, hearing this single “As Tradition” was a cathartic experience within itself — drawing on my own religious upbringing as a queer youth, my relationship to my Catholic faith was a traumatic one. I was preached to hate the person I was and completely cleanse any remains of my own sexuality, and it took me years to grow into fully accepting who I am. “As Tradition” stands as a song of no longer letting yourself and your identity dissolve for others, and it served to remind me of how important it is to love myself and the person that I am.

Similarly, Maple Glider’s newest single, “Swimming,” (released on April 13), acts within itself a cathartic love song of letting go of a relationship. It paints itself as a bittersweet memorial, putting to rest the emotions and anxieties of a predetermined break-up. The single, which is the third released track from her forthcoming debut, To Enjoy Is the Only Thing, acts as a personal diary entry, with lyrics acting as fragmented personal monuments that slip in like a movie scene. Her words, stern and wise, leading you along the way.
In response to the lyrics and tone of the song, she says, “[I feel as if] we learn a lot from all of our past relationships. Even whether they're romantic or not. For me, it's hard to say whether one truly gets over past relationships - I'm still trying to figure out what that means. But I am learning to move past those feelings of having a strong connection with|to someone. What I believe is truly important, is growing and learning from those experiences and shared memories. It just seems inevitable.”

With all of Maple Glider’s work, the truth of the matter is that they are what you choose to make of them. In their purest of form, they are beautifully crafted songs that leave a remarkable first impression on those who listen to them. However, over time, they become the ultimate tools of self-love and healing. Every lyric is a vessel for you to take in and analyze. Every tremble of her voice is for you to explore your emotions alongside her. And because of this, hopefully, you will find that these moments are just as “remarkable” and “life-altering” as they were for Maple.

“To me, I really do not think I can dictate the perspective I want people to have when listening to my songs,” she says. “I think so much of the experience of connecting to music is just having your own interpretation of it based on your own experiences. And that is what I guess can make music feel really emotional? And to me, that is just a really beautiful and really special thing.”

Maple Glider’s full debut LP, To Enjoy Is the Only Thing, is set for release on June 25 through Partisan Records | Pieater, with exclusive limited vinyl pressings available for pre-order on the artist's website.

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