Freya Rose to mark EP release with headline gig at The Garibaldi

The Northants singer-songwriter is due to release the five-track EP on Friday, February 20, and will headline the Northampton venue the following day.

‘Learning How To Live’ is the follow up to Freya’s award-winning debut album ‘Girlhood’.

It sees Freya move away from the soft, pop-leaning innocence of her album, embracing darker textures, heavier themes and a confident command of production and recording.

Talking about the EP, she said: “This record is about sitting with discomfort. About realising that you don’t suddenly get better or find answers, you just learn how to live alongside everything.

“This is the first time I’ve really taken charge of the production and recording and found joy in the art of making music itself. It truly feels like the most honest version of me.”

Across five tracks, ‘Learning How To Live’ explores the cycle of depression, digital overwhelm, heartbreak, spirituality and acceptance, capturing the uneasy process of growing up in a modern society when answers don’t come easily.

It opens with ‘All Roads Lead To Dead Ends’, a grungy, messy indie rock track that mirrors the cyclical nature of depression.

Loud, distorted sections collapse into fragile quiet moments before erupting again, sonically reflecting the feeling of repeatedly falling back into the same never-ending hole.

‘Over-Saturation’ follows, driven by twinkly percussion and playful textures masking the subject of a relentless flood of content, opinions and imagery in the digital age.

On ‘Hopeless, Gracious, Weak’, Freya delivers a heartbreak ballad. The track melds lush strings and piano which carry the weight of unrequited love, being the emotional support for someone who desires someone else.

The EP’s lead single, ‘It’s Not A Race To The End’, is deceptively upbeat - a punchy, bouncy indie rock track with driving drums and dancing guitars.

Beneath its joyful exterior lies a quiet existential fear - grappling with death, religion and spirituality.

The EP concludes with ‘Rebirth’, an acappella choral outro built entirely from Rose’s own layered vocals.

‘Learning How To Live’ arrives following a standout 12 months for Freya who performed at the Women’s Rugby World Cup, supported 80s icon T'Pau and earned a nomination for Artist of the Year at the Rhythm and Poesy Awards.

She was also picked to represent Northampton at Les Expressifs festival, held in Northampton’s twinned town of Poitiers, France.

Freya’s previous album ‘Girlhood’ won Best Album at the Northamptonshire Music Awards in 2024.

This weekend, she will be joined at The Garibaldi Hotel by Woegetter and Ivory. Doors open at 7.30pm. For more information, visit https://linktr.ee/freyarose.