Released as the second single from her upcoming EP A Place I Recognise, “Cutting Ties” finds Elina at her most self-assured yet vulnerable, delivering a track that feels like the moment you finally stop looking back.
The production leans into a dreamy, retro-tinged folk-pop sound. Percussive elements and rhythmic guitar strums create a propulsive foundation that builds continuously, never quite settling.
There’s a hazy, 3 a.m. introspection to the arrangement, that half-awake feeling where clarity and melancholy blur together. It’s simultaneously satisfying and sad, a sonic embodiment of bittersweet release.
Elina’s vocal performance remains the emotional anchor. Her warm, comforting delivery carries the weight of the decision at the song’s heart without tipping into despair. She sounds like someone who’s fought hard to stay, now finding unexpected peace in leaving.
Thematically, “Cutting Ties” explores the courage required to choose yourself, and walk away from a place or situation that no longer fits, even when it once felt like home. Elina captures that specific ache of outgrowing your surroundings, of missing who you were while knowing you can’t go back.
Following “Scars,” her tender duet with James TW about embracing imperfections, “Cutting Ties” shows another facet of Elina’s artistry: her ability to transform difficult endings into something that feels oddly redemptive.
Our verdict: A beautifully vulnerable anthem for anyone who’s ever had to leave something behind.
