The last time we heard from Stella Bridie was alongside the release of her sophomore single ‘My Girl’, a track that we described at the time as “profound and emotionally potent”. While ‘My Girl’ was largely built around delicate piano and a tangle of cinematic strings, ‘Alive’ finds her reverting back to the indie-rock drive of her debut single ‘Dog Bite’, matching the immediacy and passion of that previous single while showcasing a new level of her songwriting prowess and assurance as a performer.

After emerging with a simmering keyboard as Stella begins to weave a worming melody that refuses to let up for the rest of the track, ‘Alive’ bursts into a propulsive drive, powered by a gritty bass chug over a punchy backbeat. The track shifts into an expansive chorus, offsetting the charging pace with glistening chords and sweeps of crystalline keys, before Stella and the band double down again, her lyrics spilling out with a frantic potency that makes the song feel all the more evocative. Following another spirited chorus, this time with an even more searing instrumental along with rich gang vocals, ‘Alive’ cools off with a mishmash of looped vocal takes, revealing the turbulence and restless energy that’s constantly been sitting beneath the surface, before dissipating completely.

Speaking about the track, Stella shares “this song was written on a frenzied walk in the early lockdown era. The way it’s written and structured means it’s a marathon to sing, because that was the feeling I was trying to capture; that struggle to keep persisting through periods of failure or being unwell or heartbroken. You can barely stand to stop and take in the reality of what you just felt or said, so you barrel forward into the next thing. It’s not a sad song; it’s ultimately about resilience and moving forward, because you have no other choice.”