Hemlocke Springs Shines With Debut Dark Fantasy Concept Album ‘the apple tree under the sea’
Hemlocke Springs’ debut album, the apple tree under the sea is finally here! A long way away from her 2022 self-released "gimme all ur luv," Spring’s has concocted an 80s dark fantasy narrative encapsulating the spooky, sparkly dreamscape that she has spent the last several years weaving together. With surreal lyrics and electro-ballads throughout, the album is sure to be one of the most talked about debuts of 2026.
Our story begins with “the red apple”, a regal summoning of El Shaddai to usher us into Springs’s 10 track universe. “the end of the beginning” takes a different shape, resembling a 2000s pop & R&B fusion with lyrics speaking to insecurity and all that we do to numb it.
“head, shoulders, knees and ankles” cements us into the world of the album. Listening to it feels like having a sleepover with your girlfriends in a haunted house. It makes you want to jump around and scream at the top of your lungs. The lyrics take a fable in and of itself, with a female protagonist dealing with the shootings of Cupid’s bow, who uses people as pawns and having distressing encounters before disappearing into thin air. As the story song unfolds, it seems this character is an ally to Springs herself or an external manifestation of her own power.
In the last minute of the song, Springs departs from the transforming into a soundscape of a journey through a forbidden forest. The next track, “w-w-w-w-w”, feels a bit like that step into the great unknown, a labyrinth created by some kick drums and Prince-like vocals. Lyrically, the song tells the story of being courted by a much older man and not being able to imagine a life of partnership. “moses” is not dissimilar in soundscape, although more quest-like as Springs tells a biblical allegory of running blindfolded, using her hands to part the sea like moses and promising not to dissolve into pillars of salt.
“sever the blight” feels like a futuristic freeway drive, the girly-pop counterpart to The Weeknd’s After Hours & Dawn FM eras. Synths and all, this is the first time in the album Springs calls to a pop culture reference, distancing herself from Snow White, setting herself apart from their fairest of the land but finding herself trapped by a love miles away.
“sense is (prelude)” is a pause of divine intervention, with rumblings of a pensive speech in the background that turns into a sound of marching transitioning us into the climax of the album, “sense (is)”. It’s that part of the movie where the protagonist is faced with all of the lessons they have learned along their journey and are put to the test. The lyrics reference taking a wrong turn down to Hollywood, where Springs speaks to the paradox of fame:
“Words of honor and of praise have lost their noble highs / It’s everything that everyone knows how to use / And those perceive her confidence, a see-through web of lies / Still pick and pull at all the holes they find? / I refuse!”
The end of the song encapsulates a sonic resolution of our tale, bringing us into where it sounds like things are going her way, moving us into the resolution of the movie. “set me free” shows our protagonist in the early stages of falling in love and being set free from the curse of darkness that has loomed over the album's story.
It wouldn’t be an 80s movie finale without a concluding power ballad. “be the girl!” is Springs’s reflection on who she used to be and the love she used to accept. Sends us back out into the mundane reality that lives outside of Hemlocke’s soundscape, or as she says in her own words, she’s helping us make our way to our own paradise. With a classic fading outro and all, one can’t help but feel nostalgic and proud of the journey that we’ve been on for the last half hour.
Hemlocke Springs has created the concept album of my weird girl dreams, and I can’t wait to see the lives that this album lives with her upcoming tour and festival dates. Stream the apple tree under the sea today and check out hemlockesprings.net for tour dates and more info.
