Maple Glider releases mellow new single “Baby Tiger” ahead of her debut album To Enjoy is the Only Thing out June 25 via Partisan Records.
Following three widely praised singles, Tori Zietsch AKA Maple Glider returns to offer us her latest cut “Baby Tiger”. Much like her previous singles “As Tradition,” “Good Thing,” and “Swimming,” this new offering showcases Zietsch’s haunting ability to condense her highly complex emotions into intensely personal, yet strangely universal musical slices.
On her stripped back fourth single, “Baby Tiger,” there is something forlorn about the succinctly and thoughtfully strummed acoustic guitar. The minute “imperfections” and naturalistic noises that are littered throughout the track, such as the scratch of the strings when she changes chords, or the slight knocking sound that’s heard as her knuckles hit the body of the guitar when strumming, all add to the charm of the track.
Maple Glider consistently offers us parts of her life in absolute earnest and “Baby Tiger” is no different. These minor “isms” that go hand in hand with her music offer a complete immersion into her world, her mind. It’s akin to the feeling of gathering around the teacher for story time as a child; her music possesses that same narrative styling and odd rapture despite its quiet nature.
Lyrically the sombre essence is sustained, focussing on the strange limbo that comes from a downward episode, where time ceases to move in a linear way. The presence of the cat or “baby tiger” at the door is a beautiful and wholesome reminder that even at your worst times, your cat is always there for you.
Of the track, Maple Glider commented: “‘Baby Tiger’ was written soon after I’d returned home from Brighton. I was really struggling with my mental health, but I was going out and kind of using dating as a distraction from dealing with it. It never really worked. I’d just end up feeling worse when I was alone. Coriander (the cat) hates closed doors. She’ll always want to know what you’re doing on the other side. It kind of became comforting to hear her scratch at my door. It was something that felt constant and unwavering and regular at a time when I was a bit vacant. Her energy made me feel lighter. I’m very detached from the ‘man’ I address in the song, but I beg for him to comfort me. Though I am feeling unwell, I am pretty certain that it is temporary. I know that ‘I’ll come back to me soon.’ My housemate says she sees this as a kind of happy song because it features Coriander, and I really love that perspective, because even though I was in a bad place when I wrote it, there is an element of hopefulness.”
The accompanying visuals are once again directed by friend and project partner Bridgette Winten. Following on from the now well established motif of a Maple Glider x Bridgette Winten project, the video is made up of grainy textured super 8 film, comprised of vignettes – mostly in black and white – of Maple Glider’s very own baby tiger. Ferociously cute.
