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If you have had your heart broken; dated someone who has become your ‘Favourite Ex’ but it couldn’t work out; or, had one too many ‘Sad Girl Summers’ then you would’ve almost definitely heard of the icon that is Maisie Peters. After first seeing Peters play a gig in Cardiff in 2018, I was hooked – and she has been the sole reason I’ve got through some pretty bad breakups since then too.
JP Saxe has also had his fair share of heartbreaking releases, especially his collaboration ‘If The World Was Ending’ with Julia Michaels, for which he is best known.
With every song being so beautifully relatable and honest, Maisie Peters really does seem to know exactly what you’re feeling every time she releases a new track. Each of Maisie’s records being the most intricate and reflective stories of love, relationships (both romantic and friendships), and being young.
With this, she really does make music that is accessible and comforting for young people going through very conflicting or difficult times as they navigate their own relationships, which can be very isolating regardless of how many times you’ve been through it before.
In her most recent release with JP Saxe, ‘Maybe Don’t’, we get a new story. A tale of confusion, trials and tribulations in a relationship that leads to some difficult decisions between the couple. Playful, yet pensive, you can hear the two voices tease the idea of letting their disagreements go in ‘Maybe Don’t’ and continuing to stick together regardless.
If you’ve ever caught Peters’ ‘Feels Like This’ or ‘Enough For You’ then you may be a bit tentative to reconcile after a partner like the one in ‘Maybe Don’t’, especially if you find yourself having the all too familiar conversations like –
“I said I should hang up the phone
You said, Maybe Don’t
And I think I should go
you said maybe don’t”
True to their style as writers and storytellers, ‘Maybe Don’t’ is a catchy yet emotive love song that gets stuck in your head on repeat.
The conversation between the two parties throughout is one that we are all sure to have had before. But, whether those relationships worked out for us or not, you’ll find a track by either artist to perfectly capture how you’re feeling about it now.
Caitlin Parr
Maisie Peters and JP Saxe’s ‘Maybe Don’t’ is out now via Atlantic Records UK.
Featured Image by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash. Image license can be found here. No changes were made to the image.
Caitlin Parr
Caitlin is an MA student at Cardiff University's School of Journalism, Media and Culture alongside distance learning with the NCTJ. Outside of Empoword, she works in local news and radio in Cardiff, whilst also working with/writing for organisations such as Cardiff Women's Aid, Girlguiding and Change Grow Live. In her spare time she's a musician!