If you haven’t heard of her already, Gabrielle Aplin is the YouTube-superstar, turned up-and-coming young artist, set to release her debut album this January. She’s already played as a support act for big names such as Gotye and Emeli Sandé but in the wake of her coming album, it seems Gabrielle Aplin’s star is set to burn even brighter.
Aplin, 20, who recently signed to Parlaphone records, is a self-made singer/songwriter and the debut single ‘Please Don’t Say You Love Me’ is available to pre-order on iTunes, ahead of it’s release on 18th November. As a prelude to the album, the track certainly aligns with Aplin’s signature uncluttered, lucid style. The ethereal quality of her voice and simplistic instrumental accompaniment serves as a fresh outlook on the over-processed torrent of auto-tuned debris washing up in the charts.
In sentiment, the single shares common ground with the previously released ‘Panic Chord’ from Aplin’s first EP, entitled Never Fade, which provides a sombre scope on the dynamics of flawed relationships and unreciprocated love but Gabrielle’s progression in forging her own artistic niche prevails. This is perhaps, her most sophisticated work we’ve heard to date. ‘Please Don’t Say You Love Me’ strikes the delicate balance between lyrical intricacy and audible fluency. Whilst Gabrielle has advanced from her days of recording acoustic covers on YouTube, her folk/pop influences remain evident in the clean, rustic appeal of the single.
So far, so good, it appears she’s the one to watch for 2013. If ‘Please Don’t Say You Love Me” is a solid indication of the debut album to come, Aplin can be sure to please her already 60,000 strong YouTube subscribed fan base.
No doubt, the transition from YouTube sensation to musically acclaimed artist is an unsure one, but could we be witnessing the much anticipated rise of a star?
