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Feb 07, 2022 By Caleb Campbell

​Last month, South London singer/songwriter Etta Marcus debuted with her first-ever EP, View From The Bridge. Though she only released her debut single in October of last year, the accompanying EP shows a refreshingly considered and earnest songwriter, one who can effortlessly balance hushed intimacy and stirring melodic power. At only 20-years-old, A View From The Bridge feels like just the first taste of Marcus’ growing songwriting talents.

Following the release of the EP, Marcus has also shared a new stripped-back video for the EP’s closer, “Confessional,” premiering with Under the Radar.

Fittingly, this version of “Confessional” is as stark and downcast as the name implies, even more so than the studio version that closes View From The Bridge. Shot live at London’s Platoon 7 studios, the presentation is as simple as can be, trading the studio version’s layered vocals and organ for a spotlight and a guitar. Yet even within the stripped-back setting, Marcus proves to be a stunning talent and an enthralling performer. She draws you in with the quiet lull of her guitar, then devastates with contemplative vocal beauty and heart-wrenching lyricism. Though “Confessional” is intimate and personal, it’s simultaneously a universal image of frustration and self-doubt, one every listener can find themself within.

Marcus says of the song, “I wrote this track as a confession to myself, as if I was sitting on both sides of a confessional booth. Hence why the organ felt so right acting as the primary instrument throughout. At the time of writing this I was reflecting on a specific point in time, and finally coming to terms with my feelings. To me, it’s an empowering song. To be able to shout ‘I can’t get up in the morning’/’don’t ask me how I’m doing’, felt good.

It took a long time to finish. I wrote about three different choruses, all with varied chord progressions and a constant feeling of dissatisfaction and frustration. It wasn’t until I played with a shitty organ sound on my keyboard that it suddenly felt like it worked. The voice at the end is my mum giving me a much-needed pep talk and imparting her wonderful words of wisdom. It felt like the perfect way to depart from the EP. A soft reminder that a little self-doubt is okay, just don’t let it paralyse you.”

Check out the video below. View From The Bridge is out everywhere now.