Liam Higgins captures the ache of separation in luminous new single 'Distance'

Liam Higgins choses to sculpt his songs; layer by layer, feeling by feeling, until they shimmer with quiet intensity. His latest offering 'Distance' is a masterclass in emotional restraint and cinematic build, a track that holds you in its hush before washing you in warmth.

Opening with a swirl of delicate tones, fluttering flutes, softly cascading piano, and ambient strings, 'Distance' feels a memory forming in real time. It’s in this gentle fog that Higgins’ voice enters, clear and close, like someone recalling a story they’ve never fully shared aloud. Each line is steeped in nostalgia and subtle longing, framed by imagery that manages to feel both specific and suspended in time.

The track’s emotional core rests in its soaring refrain; strings swell, guitars flicker like candlelight, and Higgins leans into the vulnerability with disarming sincerity. The production, while expansive, never overwhelms. It’s designed to cradle his words, not overshadow them. There’s a grace in that decision, a maturity in knowing when to let the silence speak.

By the time the final refrain dissolves into a solitary piano phrase, 'Distance' has done what all great folk-pop should: it’s left you changed, if only slightly. More introspective. More attuned to the ache of what’s unspoken.

In a crowded landscape of heart-on-sleeve singer-songwriters, Higgins stands apart by refusing to shout. 'Distance' earns your attention with delicacy, depth, and undeniable craft. It’s the sound of someone whispering truths you thought only you knew.

Review by Finneas Enright