Earlier this summer, Nieve Ella told NME that while she was initially unsure what to centre her highly anticipated debut album around, one thing was certain: it needed to “sound like a massive fucking theatre piece” that caught even her most devoted fans off guard. The alt-pop star has certainly achieved her goal with the spellbinding ‘How Long Will It Take?’, where she captures the exhaustion of navigating modern life and comes to terms with the messiness of growing up.
Through a blend of hazy, indie-drenched melodies, tender lyricism and gritty guitar riffs, Ella strikes a compelling balance between vulnerability and creative fearlessness. She leans into her most personal songwriting to date, but also uses this soul-bearing approach to throw caution to the wind and take more brazen risks than ever. Perhaps exemplifying this best are back-to-back tracks ‘I’m Not Dead’ and ‘Back To Basics’; each striking a balance between insightful, tender lyricism – “Living is the answer / I don’t need it all figured out”, she sings on the former – yet simultaneously underpinned by a self-assuredness not seen in past releases.
The same can be said when comparing the bold single ‘Drive’ to the more subdued and melancholic ‘At Any Cost’. The songwriter told us that she was aware she has “big emotions” and wanted to “use them to make the album feel epic”, and she does so on both tracks – albeit in distinctly different ways. Whether it be through the tension and impatience captured in the former, or by not hiding behind her guitar and embracing less conventional instrumentals in the latter, there is a clear determination throughout her to push out of her comfort zone, and let her outlook on the messy world around her be transformed into something beautiful.
Not all tracks are willing to make the same leap, however. Deeper cuts like the playful ‘Romance Is A Desert’ and tender ‘Love:Hate’ find Ella opting for a more straightforward, safe approach. Not that there’s anything wrong with the tracks per se; they’re still likely to shine on the live stages that the singer is already so used to commanding, but unlikely to resonate quite as powerfully as its more ambitious counterparts.
When Nieve Ella put out her first EP, 2023’s ‘Young & Naive’, she was already a rising artist-to-watch who was coming to terms with the world around her while paving out a sound that lit up the live stage. And with ‘How Long Will It Take’, she evolves into a full-blown alt-pop star, confident enough to navigate the messiness and unpredictability of the world around her.
Details
- Record label: Artist Theory
- Release date: October 16, 2026
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