By Jack

Berkshire born pop agitator Chlöe Howl caught our ear with her spirited debut ‘No Strings’ back in 2013. Not many would have the stones to reference ‘Blue Monday’ on their debut single. Ambition, thy name is Howl.

We enjoyed her single ‘Magnetised’ earlier this year and are enjoying her latest even more. ‘Do It Alone’ is an update on Jessie Mae Robinson’s ‘The Other Woman’ for the Tinder-addled generation.

A break-up song from the point of view of the breaker-upperer, Howl adds an addendum to Dua Lipa’s New Book of Rules. The song’s message is a strike against the infamous ‘grey period’ between the start of one relationship and the breaking of another. Chlöe wants rid of it. Hurrah!

Everyone has that one breakup, or even several breakups, or in fact every single encounter with another human, that they aren’t exactly proud of. We miss-handle our romantic affairs, it’s just a fact. Have you not seen Ally McBeal?

‘Do It Alone’ is certainly timely, arriving at a time where pop music is intensely focused on the frailty of romantic attachment. Not many pop stars these days are giving us the old “You are my One & Only” spiel. Howl’s take on romance is purely pragmatic – end it with one girl before you chat up another – and damn it she’s right and this should be the law.

‘Do It Alone’ is a punchy, flashy pop-cum-R&B jam with lyrical flair. All eyes on Chlöe for what comes next.