Irish musician Cian Ducrot - built from a background in classical music and rich instrumentation - forges the rich orchestral emotion he grew up on together with cathartic, almost alt-like pop music, partly synonymous with this exciting, internet-raised new generation of pop musicians led by heavyweights like Lauv and Jeremy Zucker.

His major label debut, Not Usually Like This, is the perfect example. It sees him dive deep into his history, reflecting on his youth and turning it into this therapeutic burst of tender, emotional pop music. Accompanied by a subtle, yet at-times swelling production underneath, Not Usually Like This feels like Cian Ducrot at his most authentic, capturing the songwriting and lyricism that makes him such a force to be watched internationally over the year ahead.

"Not Usually Like This was the first time that I really dug into my past and was able to go to a place and write a song about something that I previously wouldn't have been able to put into words," he says on the single; something that you can feel right down in the core of the track's lyrics. "It was both difficult and easy, but I learned a lot from writing this song." (Hayden Davies / pilerats.com)

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