in which daughter shows she’s an old soul

so, daughter, aka elena tonra, is a nineteen year singer-songwriter from london whose voice reminds me of snowfall: delicate, enthralling, and yet stinging at times. and whereas many nineteen year olds are fretting about hot boys, trendy clothes, or what club to go to, tonra shows her old-soul depth through thought provoking songs.

she recently released a demos ep which consists of four tracks. some highlights:

* in the shallows – the perfect sort of song to drink chocolat chaud to on a cold, quiet night. gentle guitar lines alongside tonra’s dulcet tones, this is a bittersweet song of longing. if you leave/when i go/find me/in the shallows.

* tomorrow – a song about not wanting to let go, even though the writing is on the wall. the heavy drums in the background add just the right edge to tonra’s sugar-coated panic. when the sun comes up/we’ll be nothing but dust/just the outlines of our hands/by tomorrow we’ll be lost amongst the leaves/in a wind that chills the skeleton of trees.

* your kisses – it’s the fear so many people have in relationships: does one person love one more than the other? what happens when someone else comes along that may inspire more love? your kisses may be a beautiful art/but all i ever wanted was your heart/right from the start

* and then there’s run: tonra’s guitar keeps up a relentless pace throughout the song, and her vocals sprint to keep up. quiet despair mixing with insecurity, run is a study of a dysfunctional relationship and the quest to keep it going.

when i powder my nose
he will powder his guns
and if i try to get close
he is already gone
i don’t know where he’s going
i don’t know where he’s been
but he is restless at night
he has horrible dreams
so we lay in the dark
’cause we’ve got nothing to say
just the beating of hearts
like two drums in the gray
i don’t know what we’re doing
i don’t know what we’ve done
but the fire is coming
so i think we should run
i think we should run, run, run

while i put on my shoes
he will button his coat
and we will step outside
checking out the coast is clear
on both sides
we don’t want to be seen
no, this is suicide
that you can’t see the ropes
and i won’t tell my mother
it’s better she don’t know
and he won’t tell his folks
’cause they’re already ghosts
so we’ll just keep each other as safe as we can
until we reach the border
until we make our plan
to run, run, run

will you stay with me, my love
for another day?
’cause i don’t want to be alone
when i’m in this state
will you stay with me, my love
’till we’re old and gray?
i don’t want to be alone
when these bones decay

run, run, run

while i powder my nose
he will powder his guns
and if i try to get close
he is already gone
don’t know what i’m doing
don’t know what we’ve done
but the fire is coming
so i think we should run

Daughter – Run (demo) by ohDaughter

here she is performing peter. lovelovelove this song: