Deep dives into the world of the sophomore album by alayna Set Her Free

Tender Hearts Club:
Deep Cuts

from the women before us
to the women beside us

from the women before us to the women beside us.

The most profound love I have experienced is connected to the women in my life.

It is wrapped in the very tapestry of my life - I do not know life without it. It was the walls I chose the colour for - bright purple. The muffins that were baked. The Christmas days. The food in the freezer for my 21st birthday, already thought of, already done. It was the ticket to New York, the positive mindset when we’d taken the subway the wrong direction - when it was late and we were tired and we just needed to get home. It’s in the flowers on my bedside every time I am home. It is everywhere, everywhere, everywhere. I do not know life without it.

It’s in the flowers on my bedside every time I am home. It is everywhere, everywhere, everywhere.

I do not know life without the love of my mother.

It is in the words that never once stifled my dreams. Instead, they ignited the fire- they stacked it with wood when it was blazing, and gently blew when it was only embers. It is to live by example, with pride and self-love, to stand tall when you know it is right. I do not know life without the love of my Mother.
The torch of love passed down through generations, of powerful love, of courage and bravery, of loving incredible, extraordinary men, and teaching me what kind of love is our birthright. It is the food on the table. It is the message on my phone. It is wrapped in the tapestry of my life - I do not know life without it.

It is in the words that never once stifled my dreams. Instead, they ignited the fire- they stacked it with wood when it was blazing, and gently blew when it was only embers.

And then, I look beside me. It is the endless dinner dates and catch ups, the remembering of everything. The words of “and how are you doing with ___ / and how are you and ___ / have you maybe tried ___ ?”. It is the constant reminders of who I am when I have forgotten, the gentle but powerful words of “you can do better than this”, the dropping of all plans when I performed at my dream festival - two plane rides, one four-hour drive while breastfeeding - and three best friends were front and centre, for a 30 minute set on a small stage. Without question. Without hesitation.
It is the reading between the lines of my message saying I’m doing fine and replying with I’m coming over tonight. It is the constant, unwavering, the unconditional. It is extraordinary love. It is in the noticing. It is woven into the very tapestry of who I am. I do not know life without my girlfriends.

It is the lifeline to which we exist, the foundation in which we stand on, and the embrace we get to live within.

it does not showcase, it does not announce, it simply is.

It is the reading between the lines of my message saying I’m doing fine and replying with I’m coming over tonight. It is the constant, unwavering, the unconditional. It is extraordinary love.

I am built of the love of the people around me. I am beautiful because I am witnessed by them, celebrated by them. We sink into the safety of each other - no masks, just ourselves - with no fear of not being loved because we know our true selves are enough.

I do know the world is made up of polarity - of light and the dark. But I think the one main truth is that love is at the centre. It is the lifeline to which we exist, and the foundation in which we stand on, and the embrace we get to live within. It is everywhere and stretches across everything. If I look for it, I feel it and I see it - it does not showcase, it does not announce, it simply is.

Life can get busy, and hard, and too much, and its easy to miss - it’s easy to forget. But it’s even easier to remember. It hums along as our lungs do, as our heart beats. Whether we notice or not, it doesn’t mind, it doesn’t complain. It continues because love is our birthright and our natural form.

But it’s nice to notice sometimes. To feel the heartbeat, to feel my lungs fill with air, to allow myself to be filled with gratitude for this heroic effort - this underlying force of every day. All at once, I feel my centre of gravity again.

It’s good to notice it. To celebrate it once in a while.

It is wrapped in the very tapestry of my life - I do not know life without it.