On her new single “Broken Girls,” Victoria, BC singer-songwriter Frances Hope compares a woman who’s been played and abused to a bird with a broken wing. The song is dreamy and haunting, with a dark atmosphere and gauzy vocals that float and flutter over the gloomy haze.
Broken girls can’t fly
That’s why they fell out of the sky
From grace where they lay
They fell prey to another’s game
You and you and you left them to decay
“Broken Girls” is the first single off of Hope’s new EP Paradigm, which features dream-pop storytelling to fill a lonesome dusk, and to guide forlorn, shepherd hearts into the sparkle of an emerging dawn. In other words, it’s a record that found Hope facing vulnerability, and learning to forgive and move on. “For me, this album speaks to how ‘I was broken but I’m not now,’” Hope explains.
Paradigm’s songs emerged after Hope had met someone new. “I had trust issues and emotional exhaustion to work through to be present and give this love a chance,” she divulges. “In forgiving myself, making a conscious choice to rise from the ashes, move on from past heartbreaks, and to be receptive to a new truth, I was able to begin healing and embrace a different perspective.”
Hope was joined in the making of the EP by Neil James Cooke-Dallin of Burning Rainbow Studio performed on bass, guitar and keys, and Ron Thaler on drums, percussion, additional keys, creative consultant and did additional production on the EP. “Between the three of us, we each brought something extraordinary and special to the mix (so to speak), and I’ve never been prouder of something I’ve created than this,” Hope said.
Frances Hope’s music is an eclectic combination of sweetness and grit, and her sound has been characterized as “edgy ethereal” and “intimate and touching with subtle and emotional insight.” She is a singer-songwriter, old soul, natural performer, poet, multi-instrumentalist and alternative/indie-folk rock artist. Her music is inspired by early Joni Mitchell, Don McLean, Gordon Lightfoot, Taylor Swift, Lana Del Ray, Fleurie, Florence and the Machine, Birdy, and Brandi Carlile.
Frances is an advocate for mental health, as her own struggles led her to begin songwriting to process and heal her own emotional wounds. Her works shine a light on universal themes of vulnerability, mental health and healing, and have become one of her raisons d’être. She is currently teaching a virtual songwriting class for youth and adults dealing with trauma and she is also working on new projects to be released in 2023. Her songs “Mistaken Identity,” “Stay,” “Warzone,” and “Wanderer” have been recently played on both Indie 101.5 FM and Unsigned BC multiple times (CFRO 100.5 FM radio), and you can find her music on all streaming platforms.
