With an indie alt-pop sound that fits snugly between The 1975 and LANY, Sydney's Loretta are a trio who continue to showcase a consistency and depth when it comes to their songwriting and productions.
Their latest single (following earlier 2021 releases 'Late Night' and 'Bad Luck') is 'When I Saw You'... a yearning, meandering ballad saturated in polished acoustic-electronic instrumentation."'When I Saw U' is a chapter on acceptance and forgetting what made you feel so lost in the past," the group's vocalist and songwriter Ellis Hall says.
"It's basically about how there's no substitute for physically being in the same room with somebody – the moment when all of the fights and misinterpreted texts fall away at the sight of the person you love."
"We wanted to really capture the feeling of music with this video," the bands adds.
"We got together with Chris [Lanzon, director] and came up with the idea for the video pretty quickly, drawing themes from the song and some external references to help capture something really meaningful.
"The process was also really enjoyable; had a bunch of our friends there, the energy was really high and once we had everyone's roles and parts down, we got it all done in a few takes."
Here, Ellis shares a few of his songwriting heroes.
Elton John - 'Your Song'
I love this song. It was one of the first tunes to really grab my attention as a songwriter when I was younger; Elton John was played a lot around my house growing up.It's so well crafted from start to finish, the melody and lyrics to the production and arrangement. I've always strived to write music that feels so genuine and heartfelt; it was definitely on my mind when we were writing 'When I Saw U'. An absolute classic.
The 1975 - 'Sincerity Is Scary'
This song massively caught me by surprise the first time I heard it. I remember seeing the music video when it was released and being blown away by both the song and the visuals.I was so inspired by the direction they took with it. The melody is killer and the production left so much room to enjoy that. I loved that they weren't letting their previous releases dictate how the song should feel.
Holly Humberstone - 'Scarlett'
Holly Humberstone is one of my recent faves, but she's definitely had an impact on how I look at writing songs. All of her music is super inspiring.'Scarlett' in particular is so beautifully executed, the lyrics tell such a clear and earnest story, and the production feels lush but leaves plenty of room for her to shine, it's great.
Her vocal delivery across a few of her tracks has definitely influenced how I approached gentler songs like 'When I Saw U' vocally.
Ed Sheeran - 'Give Me Love'
Ed Sheeran was one of the first artists I discovered for myself as a teenager. Up until that point, most of the music I was listening and influenced by was from my parents.His first two albums in particular had an enormous influence on me as both a songwriter and a musician. I love so many of the songs he's released over the years, but 'Give Me Love' off his first record '+' holds a special place in my heart.
It's fantastic songwriting packaged so simply and beautifully.
Lauv - 'I'm So Tired'
There's a long list of Lauv tracks that I find inspiring, but 'I'm So Tired' is definitely one of the standouts from the record. It's such a great hook; it's definitely one of those songs you hear and wish you wrote.Conceptually and sonically it's so simple, but just done perfectly. Troye Sivan and Lauv absolutely killed this one, the increase in collaboration in the pop scene even just locally is really exciting.
Loretta's show at The Lansdowne Hotel (Sydney) 2 December has sold out. Congrats guys. . . they'll be going on tour in 2022.
