Jonathan Wilson brings soft analogue warmth to Grace Cummings’ darkest song yet

Grace Cummings has released new single ‘Fake’, the final preview of her forthcoming album, Bloodhorse!, due August 14th via ATO Records.

Produced by Jonathan Wilson, ‘Fake’ is built on soft, analogue production that gives space to Cummings’ songwriting, outwardly gentle but carrying something harder underneath.

The accompanying video, a concept devised by Cummings herself, was directed by Tori Styles and edited by Willem Kingma. Shot in a vertical 9:16 frame, it stays fixed on Cummings’ face throughout, tracking her reactions to the song as it plays.

Cummings has said the song grew out of years spent being praised as a good girl, something she came to recognise as “a form of abuse” internalised over time. She’s described the song as split in two: the first half catching on the words themselves, the second turning to the other person’s remorse.

Cummings says the themes at the heart of ‘Fake’ are ones many women recognise, even if rarely discussed so directly. Musically, she wanted the song to move physically: opening somewhere light and elevated, pulling down into something like drowning, before surfacing into a narrower, darker passage as it closes.

Bloodhorse! is out August 14th via ATO Records.

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