“Goodbye” by Filiah: mellow, minimalist guitar gently sits at the centre of the song, though it’s the vocals that steal the spotlight as they work their charm and, in doing so, deliver a beautiful song with embedded with heartfelt emotion.

Though the song may sound bare-bones at first, a few repeat listens show that Filiah has carefully crafted this song, meticulously layering vocal harmonies throughout its course and adding gorgeous strings that utilise volume swells to explore the dynamic space – essentially being the aural version of ‘light and dark’ and thus using this as a way of adding extra emphasis to specific passages. Consequently, these ideas work towards the same goal and produce a song that is hauntingly beautiful.

Regarding the video, the autumnal nature of it works incredibly well, framing the visuals within a metaphor relating to the theme of endings. The bittersweet pairing of the visuals and music is a treat; the absence of effects allows the straightforward visuals to deliver the story without interference, whilst the on-screen lyrics drive home the message.

“This song is about me realising that sometimes it doesn’t matter how great and infatuating a love is, if the people involved just end up in these toxic patterns again and again. I found myself getting caught up in nostalgia and memories on purpose just to still feel close to this person after they left. It felt as though I was literally carrying that ghost with me everywhere. And it was crushing. That was not how I wanted to remember it. So I wrote this song as a reminder for myself that saying goodbye sometimes is the only right choice” – Filiah.

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