Wave Of The Flood Opens Her Heart on Anti-Valentine’s Day Ballad
While most releases landing on Valentine’s Day weekend celebrate romance, contemporary folk artist Wave Of The Flood offers a braver counterpoint. Afraid To Be Loved is her most heartbreakingly honest release to date — a quietly devastating song for those who have stopped believing that love is meant for them.
The single marks the ninth release in an ambitious series of twelve monthly singles, created in tribute to the enduring artistry of the 45rpm record and to coincide with the artist’s own 45th year. Launched last June, the project was conceived as a way of celebrating the immediacy and emotional punch of the single as a storytelling form.
Singer-songwriter Lindsay Strachan, the creative force behind the project, describes the song as her most personal yet:
“Does storytelling get any rawer than cutting to the core of real emotion? I’ve often been guarded about whether my songs are ‘true’ or not — many are written to explore an idea rather than a lived experience. But reaching mid-life and being single, I realised how many of my friends were quietly giving up on finding love.
They were tired of the constant churn of modern dating, excelling in other areas of their lives yet feeling like failures for not meeting the right person — or discovering ingrained avoidant behaviours along the way. I realised these wonderful women weren’t being recognised in song. This one is for them. It may not change anything, but - to be seen is to be loved.”
Musically, Afraid To Be Loved is defined by restraint and emotional precision. For the first time in the series, legendary multi-instrumentalist John McCusker appears on both fiddle and accordion, adding a fragile, aching warmth. The track is produced by acclaimed musician Kris Drever (Lau), who also contributes his signature guitar work (and some well-timed knee slaps), alongside John McDonald on double bass. Recorded by Garry Boyle at The Slate Room Studio, the arrangement leaves space for the lyric to heard - intimate, exposed, and quietly devastating in all their glory.
Afraid To Be Loved will be available on all major streaming platforms from 13 February.
Supported by the National Lottery through Creative Scotland.
Listen now: https://listen.scot/wotfatbl