Single Review: Aisha Badru – The Way Back Home

US singer-songwriter Aisha Badru has returned with her beautiful new single, The Way Back Home.

The Way Back Home opens with plucky guitars layered over a hollow beat, giving off a cheery vibe and a folky air. Badru’s distinctive husky vocal kicks in as she sings “You and I are both the same. That’s how I know that you won’t stay” making the listener realise that perhaps the lighthearted melody conceals a story that runs much deeper. Badru always takes us on a journey with her lyrics about the challenges that relationships can face, and in this case, it’s knowing that you can’t hold someone down if they want to spread their wings. Sometimes people are destined to take another course in life and you must learn that the kindest thing to do is to set them free. Her gravelly tones come into their own as she reaches the chorus of “As you run towards the horizon, and venture out into the cold, I will keep the fire burning, to light the way back home.” It’s a beautiful metaphor that encompasses the notion of keeping a flame alive for a loved one while they are gone in the hope that one day they will return. Badru’s angelic tones are accompanied by fleeting, ethereal-sounding backing vocals which further add to the theme of the impermanence of love.

Badru, who has carved a niche for herself with her gravelly, whispered vocals and folky accompaniments, is able to view her younger self who wanted to move away from home in the search of something greater and use this to pen a track which is both touching and relatable. “I feel like we live two lives at once. For me, it’s that image of what I thought I was, and then watching that person die by the hand of truth. Being reborn.”

The Way Back Home is taken from Badru’s upcoming EP of the same name which is due for release on the 3rd December. While writing the EP Badru said: “I knew exactly what to say without thinking about it. It was as if I was writing exactly from my heart.” Since Badru’s debut in 2015, she has gained over 100 million streams and has a European fan base that continues to grow. She has also received praise from Clash, Line of Best Fit, Daily Telegraph and Wonderland.

The Way Back Home is available to stream now. Find out more about Aisha Badru here and have a listen to The Way Back Home below.