South London’s Cat Burns has had quite the time of it so far this year. Her single ‘go’ has stormed the UK’s Official Singles Chart – a breakup anthem currently sitting right in the higher reaches, clocking up over 55 million Spotify streams and a home on BBC Radio 1’s A-list. Today, she’s dropping a whole EP , ’emotionally unavailable’, delving into the detachment and connection of an era dominated by social media. Relatable, engaging and yet totally personal, we asked Cat to talk us through it track by track for our latest Artist’s Guide.
go
‘go’ is about a breakup a close friend of mine went through a couple of years ago. The song is about being betrayed and finally finding out that the person who should love you the most breaks your trust and completely ruins the relationship. It’s not a mean or ill-wishing song; it’s a song about realisation but also disbelief at the same time.
learnt to love goodbyes
‘learnt to love goodbyes’ is about having commitment and abandonment issues. It’s about anticipating people in your life leaving you because that’s all that you’re used to, even if the person hasn’t shown that they would also do the same.
anxiety
‘anxiety’ is about having the desire to present and be who you’ve always wanted to be but feeling like you can’t because of your anxiety. It’s about talking to yourself, asking whether you can start living your life without anxiety, living in your room and in your bed, and be more like roommates. Anxiety stops us from doing most things in our life, and for a lot of people, almost shapes their perceived personality. It’s super hard when you know what you’re really like but feel a mental block when it comes to showing it.
ghosting
‘ghosting’ is about taking a mental health break. I’m a massive introvert and need to recharge alone after being social in any way possible. It’s a song to let your friends know that you’re not ghosting them on purpose, you’re just going through things, and you would rather do that alone than with people.
we’re not kids anymore
‘we’re not kids anymore’ is about friendship breakups. The song is about having those close friends you’ve grown up with when you were younger. Then life soon happens, and the friendship has changed its course, and you’ve gone on your own separate journeys, and nothing is the same as it was. It’s a sombre song and hopefully a song you can listen to when you wanna relive the friendship that once was in your mind.
emotionally unavailable
’emotionally unavailable’ sums up the whole EP; it talks about how emotionally unavailable the generation is, how much choice we have in terms of dating apps etc. but also how we all want love and connection and would love to meet someone. It’s the perfect way to end the project as it sounds dramatic and lyrically shows that moving forward, I’m becoming more emotionally available!
Cat Burns’ EP’ Emotionally Unavailable’ is out now.
