Back in 2021, Maple Glider was singing about her restrictive and traditional religious upbringing in her gorgeous debut album To Enjoy is the Only Thing. Today, the singer-songwriter – real name Tori Zietsch – explores once again this topic in her new single “Dinah”. “I’ve been in the church but the church is in my skirt,” she repeats in this song inspired by a biblical tale, which addresses the hypocrisy and double standards of the patriarcal institution.

“For me, “Dinah” is the scariest thing I’ve ever put out,” she explains. “It’s probably the most pop feeling song I’ve released, but it’s really quite an angry song. I have felt incredibly disturbed and frustrated and sad in the process of writing and putting it together.”

Alongside the track, Zietsch also shared a colorful video, that she co-directed with Bridgette Winten. “Dinah”, as well as previously released single “Don’t Kiss Me”, will be featured on her sophomore album I Get Into Trouble.

“These songs have been no easy feat, but I’m ready as all hell for you to hear them. Hope you can hold them with tenderness and self-care,” she details. “This album feels more like an opening up because there are things I wasn’t feeling ready to publicly share through songs, but now I finally feel ready.” And we’re also ready to hear them.

Watch the video below, and pre-oder the LP via Bandcamp.

Having settled back in Melbourne after her somewhat semi-nomadic existence, Tori Zietsch aka Maple Glider has set her musical sights on releasing her debut album To Enjoy is the Only Thing. With the release of her previous single “Good Thing”, the artist also announced that she had signed to Partisan Records in partnership with Australian label Pieater.

Led by a fizzling, languid drum beat and the sparse guitars, “Swimming” follows in what is now an established formula for a Maple Glider track. Her power lies in her buttery light, delicate voice that weaves tales of woe and despair, whilst managing to sound achingly beautiful.

Coupled with some quiet keys underlying the song, the combined effect of “Swimming” is one of a hazy Sunday afternoon reminisce. It sounds like sipping a glass of freshly made lemonade on the porch and thinking about a lost love, the one that got away. Those subtle keys gift the song that sombre edge that Maple Glider is unparalleled at providing.

Accompanying the track, is a Bridgette Winden directed video. It’s already the third time that Maple Glider’s long time friend is in charge of the visuals. The “Swimming” clip retains the wonderful edge of her previous offerings, as we see super 8 footage of the artist romping around the coast, dunes and fields with a skeleton for a companion. It’s comically staged almost; the skeleton is an anatomically correct one that you find in a school biology lab, but it fits the more downtrodden side of the song. It’s tongue in cheek, but it’s ultimately reflective of the track’s ruminations about a kind of love that’s scarring, that’s so deep that it hurts whether it’s bad or not.

Solidifying her status of true storyteller, “Swimming” is essentially a cyclic song, ending with the same refrain that the track opened with. It feels like a perfect pearl, leaving the tale unending, like a chapter of a book enticing you to come back for the next installment.

After her striking, soul searching debut “As Tradition” caught our attention back in September last year, Tori Zietsch aka Maple Glider has quietly been making moves. Her sophomore track, “Good Thing,” is released via Partisan Records, in partnership with Australian label Pieater.

Living a semi-nomadic lifestyle for a time, moving to Melbourne and then Brighton, UK before back to Melbourne again, her travels and untethered nature undoubtedly continues to inform her writing.

Of this latest offering, Maple Glider commented, “I wrote this song out of a place of defeat. I was really heartbroken at this point, and very confused. I like the feeling of my independence and I think I was afraid of putting energy into the wrong people. Sometimes we make decisions out of fear and sometimes it’s because we know that it is the best decision to make. Those lines can get very blurry.”

Describing the consequences that accompany a breakup, including the pain you inflict while leaving someone that you once loved, “Good Thing” is tender and heartbreaking.

Opening with fragmented, sparse guitars and Maple Glider’s ethereal folk vocal work at the helm, “Good Thing” traverses her thoughts, landing finally on the conclusion that “I’d rather kill a good thing than wait for it to die”.

Much like her previous offering, “Good Thing” feels positively diaristic, like we’re truly being allowed into her innermost thoughts and feelings. We’re with her every step of the way as she processes over what is the right decision to make. This doubtful reflection is also palpable in the structure of the track, which eschews the comfort and familiarity of a repetitive chorus.

The video accompaniment is once again directed by Zietsch’s good friend Bridgette Winten. In a set of grainy super 8 shots, we see Maple Glider fluctuate between a carefree persona and a more introspective one; recollecting her thoughts and memories together to evaluate if this relationship really is a “Good Thing”.

The new alternative rock project of singer-songwriter Tori Zietsch, Maple Glider is one of beauty and sonic wonder. Having travelled extensively, experiencing the highs and lows that come from living a nomadic lifestyle – including falling in and out of love multiple times – Maple Glider was born after returning to her hometown of Melbourne in 2019. After releasing a slew of SoundCloud demos, “As Tradition” is the first official single from the artist.

Of the track and it’s conception, Maple Glider commented: “I was raised from birth in quite a restrictive religious household. When I moved away from Australia and left the supportive community I have at home here in Melbourne, I realized that I hadn’t really processed a lot of the ways that I’d been affected by it. Going through my last break-up I could draw a lot of parallels between the feelings I’d had participating in the religion as I’d had in that particular relationship. I felt my identity kind of dissolve in order to appease what my partner at the time needed from me, and in a way, I began performing for the idea of love and acceptance instead of trusting my intuition. There was definitely a strong element of gaslighting in both situations and I guess writing the song was a way of coming to that understanding and forming a resolution to grow from those experiences.”

With this knowledge, it’s then fitting that religious undertones sprinkle throughout “As Tradition”. In the opening lyrics, Maple Glider croons “Love is just a word I have learned I may use at my own expense/Bible study earned me the right to be alone, in my own defence” and later she sings “You and God baby love me the best”. Having these references dotted throughout the track helps the up and coming talent to equate her toxic relationship with the oftentimes oppressive nature of strict religious practices.

Accompanying the delicate track is a DIY music video, filmed on Super 8 in her home with the help of her roommate Bridgette Winten. The video shows Maple Glider throwing a party for one, with balloons, disco balls and tassels strewn around the house. The heady mix of the grainy, sepia inflected film, the stoic drums, carefully plucked acoustic guitars and heavy keys, makes “As Tradition” a surprisingly airy ride.