“suck it up” and Alex Coel’s Soft Love
There is something so beautiful about the leftover hints of humanity in a song. The smacking of lips, the taps on a guitar. It’s all a reminder that what we are listening to is the raw, unfiltered stories of another human being. For artists like Alex Coel, we always feel the warm bleeding from each dusty guitar string.
The Dublin-based singer-songwriter is new to the indie folk scene, only having released their debut single last November, but even with a limited discography, their music feels familiar. Their first song, “i promise,” introduced the hushed intimacy that would become the crux of their recently released single “suck it up,” a song of gentle sincerity reminiscent of early Phoebe Bridgers and Lizzy McAlpine.
Coel began writing the track as a letter to a friend or partner, detailing the uncertainty in their relationship. However, as they kept writing, the song took on a life of its own.
“After writing the first verse, it started to feel closer to a gesture of reconciliation, closer and closer to a stable and heartfelt love song,” they said.
“suck it up” ignites a closeness. The bellowing string instruments mirror a deep hum, vibrating through the listener, and the multi-layered harmonies surround the listeners, making the love overwhelming by the end.
Even with this all-consuming affection, Coel’s delivery is still soft, encouraging an acceptance of moving slowly and taking the time to find your footing in something that felt unstable. “suck it up” is a medley of building blocks, with each strum of the guitar acting as a brick and the mellow strings becoming the necessary glue.
In the last 30 seconds, the song reaches a new depth, encapsulating the reconciliation that marks the end of the track. We don’t return to the quiet reminiscence that once was; everything culminates in those last moments, where the track may not be particularly loud, but builds with a passion that speaks volumes.
