I Was Love continue to establish themselves as dark synthpop heavyweights on ‘Only Breathing’

The track is the second release from the duo, following the unwinding 'Hands Open'.

The track is the second release from the duo, following the unwinding ‘Hands Open’.

Manchester duo I Was Love are an act that do a masterful job of injecting visceral and ambitious electronic sound with a foreboding sense of darkness and anxiety. New single ‘Only Breathing’ is a wonderful example of this, with its synth-laded sounds and heavy bass creating an atmosphere that feels as uneasy as it does often catchy and memorable.

The track takes a more straight-forward and accessible approach than their unfurling and mutating debut single ‘Hands Open’, and these early releases just continue to establish the depth and range that I Was Love boast with their sounds and the way that they present them.

“Only Breathing is a song about relationships romantic but also interpersonal.” The duo have said of the track. “It explores the idea of whether it is possible to ever truly know anyone, and what that means for those trying to navigate that which cannot be known. When you give such a large portion of yourself to someone else: what does the hidden quantity mean for yourself and them?”