Fiona Amaka – Cowards and Shadows (2025)
Skipping through the realms of folk, soul, blues and indie-rock music, singer-songwriter Fiona Amaka passes her hand across, picks up the sonic flowers, and offers an insatiable bouquet of bright reds, blues, greens, and yellows in her melodies. Known for her distinctive folk-rock sound, tinged with kicks of soul and blues, the UK-based musician not only charms audiences with powerful performances but resonates with listeners, offering solace and comfort with each chord and poetic lyric. We came across Amaka a few months ago with the single, ‘No Daylight’; today, we take a listen to her track, ‘Cowards and Shadows’.
Following the well-received ‘No Daylight’, ‘Cowards and Shadows’ shifts from a pool of 90s alternative rock and grunge to a concoction of indie-rock with flecks of folk slicing through the track. Dragging us, or at least me, back to the days of Radiohead and The Cranberries, ‘Cowards and Shadows’ shoves you into a foggy sonic forest with fairies fluttering past you on the dusty path. With dynamic drums pulsating beneath, and Andy Zanini bringing his own flair with soaring guitars, the song has meat to its melody; however, just as there is weightiness, Amaka’s delicate albeit gritty vocals raise your head with uplifting whimsy.
A strong reminiscence of The Cranberries, ‘Cowards and Shadows’ brims with duality: confident but vulnerable, wistful but bold, powerful but subdued – each note intricately unpicks raw human emotion and challenging experiences. Unafraid to delve into the more complex areas of life, Amaka takes a closer look at the issue of ghosting in today’s world. I’m not talking about ghosts following you about with spiritual unease, but the act of completely ignoring a person. Amaka explains:
“The subject of ghosting kept coming up in conversations and in life. People were talking about how ghosting culture has extended out of personal relationships into so many areas, including job-hunting… this song came up out of that…”
Find out more about Fiona Amaka on her Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
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