Grace Sullivan of Wish Queen reclining amid a shower of polychromatic flower petal light; photographed by Alison Scarpulla, styled by Courtney May.

The path unwinding is a weird, bewildering, and serpentine stretch of unimaginable uncertainty. We hold in the frame of our visions and sights the doe-eyed goals for the future, contending with the challenges that interrupt the greatest laid plans of mice and lions alike. Wildly and recklessly the world rages around and around on its axis of absurdity, leaning towards authoritarian aspirations. Amid the nonstop tumult we wonder where humankind really factors into the maddening silent scream of it all. From the depths of introspection and incapacitation due to numerous anxiety attacks on account of overthinking everything, we wonder about our place in the world. Where we are. Who we are. Why we are deserving of love. What love means to us and those we love. What a world of love looks like. How we impart love to others. What it feels like to be loved. How love provides us with moments in life that are sublime and special beyond all standardized metrics. How we return to love, and how we find meaning in sharing what the dimensions of love are for us and one another.

Thus is the pursuit and pensive exploration on Wish Queen’s double single Feeder/Floral Sheets. Cleveland artist Grace Sullivan follows up the album debut Saturnalia with the next chapters that sounds like the foundational beginnings of a follow up full-length. The new duality between the new tracks offers a rewarding journey through the places of up close self-examinations and allowing/opening yourself up to the possibility of an interdependent and ineffable state of amour. Sullivan presents a pair of songs that course through the inward and outward terrain, surrendering and reconciling states of love that unlock new wonder waves of beauty and bliss.

Picking up on the heels of Saturnalia’s closing number “10:24“, Wish Queen’s "Feeder” furthers the feels and introverted frequencies of moonless nocturnes. The ambience Grace stirs up throughout the song are immersive. Smoldering plumes of fog and smoke permeate the slow-core mystique of late evening uninhibited exhibitions of intimacy that wades through the wiles and valleys of vulnerable expression. “Feeder” ponders the sacrifices and points where we place ourselves, our spirits, our energy, our bodies in unguarded points for the consumption of others. Wish Queen trudges into the trenches of the consciousness, heart, and soul of what we are, what we have lost, what others have taken, what remains, who we are, and what we want. “Feeder” invites the audience to follow Sullivan on a subterranean crawl through the underground tributaries and tribulations of the heart and core of the self (and the furthest extents of sentimentality).

The minimalist strums and carefully cascading strings wrap “Floral Sheets” in plush linens and celebratory ribbons. Wish Queen paints a portrait of true love, the thrill of finding someone that sees you and accepts you for the person you are. The enrapturing, evocative, and enticing windswept whimsy and serious degrees of amorous discovery are passionately displayed with an effective minimalism that takes you by the hand through the visceral throes of a requited romance. “Floral Sheets” gives space for a candid degree of sensuality and intimacy, illustrating an empathetic exchange of appreciation and intrinsic bonds with another world searching soul. Grace Sullivan's self-made visuals for the song revel in those privy moments spent with her beau, capturing the treasured moments that enrapture the body, spirit, and mind. "Floral Sheets" is ultimately a statement of intimacy unbound, a sacred portrait of realized loved and the inexplicable ecstasy that naturally over takes every aspect of the senses and expanses of a humbled and earnest soul. "Floral Sheets" gentle swings the audience into a sacred lullaby and testament to true love.

Wish Queen’s Grace Sullivan, enjoying the fruits of the vine; photographed by Alison Scarpulla, styled by Courtney May.

Grace Sullivan shared reflections on the songs “Floral Sheets” and “Feeder” with the following privy insights:

My debut album, Saturnalia, was primarily a breakup album, and I wrote it during a time when I was feeling especially lost and heartbroken. I've only ever really been able to write sad songs, that's how I've always worked through those complicated emotions. It felt really good to finally write a love song like "Floral Sheets”.

Gathering about the floral gardens with Wish Queen; photographed by Alison Scarpulla, styled by Courtney May.

Something romantic and hopeful, its so new for me. But to get there, I needed "Feeder" to work through the fears I had about surrendering to love, and allowing myself to be happy. And also grappling with the fact that while love is a beautiful transformative thing, it's still me in love, with all the messy dark baggage I've carried all these years. That's why I felt like I had to release them together. For me, although they're very different songs, "Feeder" and "Floral Sheets" feel like two sides of the same coin. The light and dark sides of falling in love.

Reflections by Grace Sullivan of Wish Queen; photographed by Alison Scarpulla, styled by Courtney May.

"Floral Sheets" feels like a break in the clouds for me, and the mark of a new era for my music. I'm really excited to be writing from this place of happiness. I hope to continue for a while. I've been feeling so inspired by classic love songs like Etta James' "At Last" and Mazzy Star's "Fade Into You".
The last line in "Floral Sheets" is a little nod to Lana Del Rey's “Video Games”, maybe the greatest modern love song, and one of inspirations for this song. I want to say it's all for you, but I'm a little selfish too, it's all for me, it feels so good to love you.

Wish Queen’s double single Feeder/Floral Sheets arrives November 8, performing live on the following dates:

November

14 Cleveland, OH | CODA

22 Cleveland, OH | The Grog Shop

PREMIERE | Wish Queen, 'Feeder/Floral Sheets'