Label: Island
Released: 28th October 2022
Dylan has been reaching for star status her entire life, and ‘The Greatest Thing I’ll Never Learn’ proves that it’s now well within her grasp. As if accruing thousands of new fans through main stage festival slots and momentous support tours wasn’t enough, this eight-track mixtape takes the pure ferocity of her on-stage attitude and dissects it with a surprising range of sonic textures.
Self-aware, satirical and snappy tunes twist Dylan’s trauma into catharsis as she successfully packs a punch into every track – whether it’s the acceptance of ‘Nothing Lasts Forever’ or the striking loneliness of ‘Home Is Where The Heart Is’, it’s hard to listen through and not picture yourself with a fist in the air at one of the many arenas the London-via-Suffolk singer has dominated this year alone.
The centrepiece trifecta of ‘Lovestruck”s explosive pop chorus, the genuine vulnerability of ‘Blisters’ and the rough, thrashing guitars of ‘Treat You Bad’ delivers a dynamic journey through a world where anyone can step into your life, and anyone can just as easily step out. The acoustic closer instils a true sense of scale and emphasises the heights Dylan is able to reach, while the bittersweet tones of the title track show that she can keep reinventing her approach to romance-fuelled pop-rock with ease.
The obvious throughline here continues to be tumultuous relationships, as this is clearly what this singer-songwriter struggles with most, but that personal flavour only builds on the accessibility of an ever more powerful discography. Strikingly delivering the empowering ethos of ‘life’s too short for shit relationships’, Dylan is getting closer and closer to becoming the rock star she’s always wanted to be.
