For those of us who can appreciate the need for a good post-breakup wallow, SINK NOW, SWIM LATER invites us to sit in it all in contemplation.
Featuring on Spotify’s ‘Pop Rising’ and the ‘10 Musicians To Watch in 2025’ list from Dazed, singer/songwriter Sienna Spiro proves that she has earned these mentions with this project.
Sienna’s writing vulnerably incorporates many common thoughts we all have at the end of a relationship -
“Cause all I need is you to need me…need me like water”
“If I left the room, would you notice I wasn’t there?”
“Surely it won’t hurt to stay the night…I’ll morph into any shape you like”
The unfiltered, raw honesty extends to even the most irrational, borderline insane thought processes that we don’t want to admit to having -
“All I wanted was to be your hostage, for you to tie me up and never let me leave”.
Ignorance is bliss aren’t empty words that your parents tell you from time to time, but a truth explored in ‘BUTTERFLY EFFECT’. “Pretend to love me…Can’t you pretend again?” captures the irrationality and self-detrimental compromises that many of us make - the insecurity after having someone leaves us longing for the days when we were none the wiser.
Another example of skilfully storytelling comes in ‘TAXI DRIVER’. This one was weirdly relatable – you can so imagine having a bit too much to drink and pouring your guts out to a poor unsuspecting taxi driver after a night out.
From insecurity to people-pleasing, many things we all struggle with in our twenties are captured insightfully in the album. Often, someone walking away can be a catalyst for these introspective meditations of ‘am I good enough?..then why did they leave?’ which Sienna completely gets right in her exploration. Although many of the songs do address emotions after a relationship ending, this is just a catalyst for a cascade of other worries that make us nit-pick every little thing we don’t like about ourselves.
We also get a clever play on the classic post-breakup hair transformation in ‘BACK TO BLONDE’ -
“I bet you never thought I’d go back to blonde / Back to my old ways, back to no heart / Back to that bitch that couldn’t fall in love / Bleaching our memories right down the root”.
If Shakespeare and Elle Woods ever talked boy drama, the conversation would probably go something like that. Essentially, if you’re not feeling too hot, peroxide is always the answer. Carefully situated towards the end of album, this song moves to give a big f*ck you to whoever this guy is.
The final two songs on the album are new releases ‘ORIGAMI’ and ‘CYANIDE’. With these tracks, there feels a definite stylistic and tonal shift. We move from the soft piano and guitar seen throughout the album, then to the anger and middle finger in ‘BACK TO BLONDE’, here towards the first inklings of moving on. The album’s finale - and my personal favourite - seems unlike the rest. The song explores problems of numbness and self-criticism but seems further detached. The other songs on the album feel very situated in a breakup, whereas the final songs show a moving up and moving on.
In collaboration with other writers, Sienna’s name is on every track, extremely impressive at just 19-years-old. Having just broken onto the scene in 2024, Spiro has already worked with some major producers; Yakob, J Moon, Max Wolfgang and Sol Was to name a few.
RAYE and Jorja Smith meets Billie Eilish - Sienna’s sound feels familiar but unique, harnessing the reality of navigating life “being young and being a woman”. The velvety vocals that switch effortlessly from soft breathy vulnerability to the stronger beltier tracks brilliantly and emotively showcase the whole spectrum of post-breakup stages of grief. At times more defeated, at times wanting to shout in anger - Sienna’s incredible vocals capture it all.
Sienna shares on Instagram of the album’s release, “Whilst each of the songs have their own world and story, they all relate to the feeling of being on the outside. Whether it’s the longing for validation, the desire to be needed and kept around, the pressure to change to be relevant, or escaping through fantasy”.
Overall, the EP feels like a meditation on the ghost of relationships past, but also like a therapeutic act in moving on. The title - SINK NOW, SWIM LATER - cleverly reinforces this idea. That it’s okay to sit in the pain and feel it to its full extent for now, but best believe I’ll be back to swimming in no time. The journey the album takes us on helps the listener believe that they too, can move on. The artist’s reflection and at times anger at the situation shows us that she has no plans of letting this keep her down. Excited to see where her journey takes her next.
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