After a summer that started so brightly ironically with "Bad Weather", it feels like ages since we've heard from Vic Allen however thankfully she's back with a new single "Wake Up Pretty".
"Wake Up Pretty" is a song that will undoubtedly resonate with many, it calls out the supposed "Idealised perfection" that fills social media and magazines for what it is and sheds light on the damage that it does.
"Red lips, tanned skin, flawless
I don't wanna stare
But she moves just like a goddess
Hands in the air and well
I can't compete with the girls here tonight
I hide in the bathroom, pretend I'm alright
Then catch my reflection again"
The insistent chorus nails home each line and really brings home the insidious nature of the problem,one that can't be washed away by someone saying "hey you are beautiful" if the person on the receiving end cannot believe it to be true.
"If the world stopped to tell me that I looked the part
I'd smile and say it was just blinded by stars
And if you tried to make me believe it was true
I'd wish I could see things the way that you do
I've got dreams that somehow and someday
I won't hate the girl staring right back at me
That I'll take off the make up and wake up pretty"
Almost certainly Vic's most important release to date - she has really tapped into a universal feeling.
"Oh, too tall, too thin
We just can't win
Always compared, criticise what we wear and now
I've done the same myself"
As with all of Vic's releases, it comes with a telling complimentary video - it's simple yet exceedingly effective.
Having heard early acoustic versions of what is to come, fully expecting 2025 to be a big year for Vic Allen