ALICE MERTON FIGHTS AGAINST HER OWN MIND IN HARD-HITTING, INTROSPECTIVE “SAME TEAM”

For the last year, Alice Merton has teased her sophomore album, S.I.D.E.S., by releasing hit single after bonafide hit single. Yet her latest track, “Same Team,” may be the most intense and personal song of not just her upcoming album, but also her entire career.

Emerging as a breath of fresh air in the 2010’s alternative scene, Alice Merton has never been one to shy away from personal subjects in her lyrics or to experiment with varying sounds in her arrangements. “Same Team” is no different from her other fare in that respect, with a beat and soaring voice that demand your attention.

Yet “Same Team” hits in a way that most of Alice Merton’s music doesn’t. It’s raw, it’s industrial, it’s pleading, it’s heart-thumping — it’s Alice Merton fighting against herself in a way that very few songs have successfully captured. She has stated that the song was actually the first to be written for S.I.D.ES., and has offered an introspective look into its inspiration:

“I felt like I had been pulled into worlds that I didn’t understand, and having conversations with people in which we just didn’t speak the same language … A team goes through ups and downs, but often pulls together to become even stronger – but in some cases it does the exact opposite. I started to question: what do I do if that team makes me doubt myself and the decisions that we make?”

Indeed, the lyrics exemplify this delicate balancing act of trust in what feels and sounds like a race against time. Even more so than the impassioned chorus, the lyrics “Oh, I took away your confidence / So that you would feel so insecure / But I still miss those night walks / Were they ever real? / Was it all in my head? / All of the things I feel” convey perfectly what it feels like to be caught between two worlds both externally and internally.

In that way, “Same Team” is a perfect representation of the enigma that is Alice Merton. She’s a German-Irish musician who’s explored lyrically how nowhere feels like home. She’s an artist whose sound is one-of-a-kind and belongs to no single genre. S.I.D.ES. is sure to be another entry into her already-illustrious career, and will be released on June 17 by her own Paper Plane Records Int. label. In the meantime, listen to “Same Team” below!