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Photo: Nicole Ngai

A self-described “big old bratty” anthem, Orla Gartland’s “Late to the Party” is unabashedly boisterous, and a party we definitely don’t want to be late to. 

Featuring performance and co-production by indie rock staple, Declan McKenna, “Late to the Party” is definitely a celebration of sound. It’s built around a sturdy rock bass that marches confidently across straight-ahead beats, as Gartland and McKenna invite a colorful arrangement to blossom. Guitars phase in and out of focus and chopped-up synths stutter rhythmically, shaping a baffling world of production. 

“‘Late To The Party’ is a big old bratty song about resenting the baggage that you inherit when you love someone and yearning for a time when we were all a blank slate,” says Gartland. “I wanted a song on the record that shifted in pace a lot, something fun and loud, something indulgent. I first wrote ‘Late To The Party’ over a couple of solo sittings in my studio, mumbling out the lyrics while playing drums."

“A few months later I sent the song to Declan – for me he is one of the absolute greats, a properly timeless artist & writer," she continues. "We worked on the song remotely at first, sending stems back & forth and then jumped in the studio for a day to dismantle the song & put it all back together. Dec’s parts & energy added so much to the track for me and after months of revisiting it ‘Late To The Party’ was suddenly complete.”

The vocal layers are a standout point, especially with McKenna’s recognizable resonance peeking through by the second chorus. There are audible breaths and shouted words, softened by cavernously-reverbed stacks. 

With “Late to the Party,” Gartland and McKenna have genially Frankensteined a song dripping in attitude, from the vocal delivery to the intentional boldness of the production. There’s a tenderness in the lyrics, though, depicted in the accompanying music video. We watch Gartland battle her insecurities as the resident office Cupid—complete with cheeky shots of Declan McKenna stuck in the scanner, of course. 

Delightfully brazen and relatable, Gartland has crafted a new classic of genre-defying, alt-pop genius in “Late to the Party.” The track is set to appear on Gartland's forthcoming album, Everybody Needs a Hero, set to release October 4. 

Watch the "Late to the Party" video below: