On March 27, Irish rock band Florence Road released their second EP (extended play), Spring Forward. Following the success of their 2025 single Heavy, Spring Forward aimed to further expand the developing group’s musical identity. Narrating a compelling tale of heartbreak, lost love, and revelation, the four songs on the EP are spectacular with so much thought and quality behind them.
The first song, Hanging Out to Dry, starts the EP out strong. Having a less melancholy tone than many of the other songs, the song sounds more exasperated than anything else. With strong, grounding drums from Florence Road’s drummer Hannah Kelly, clear vocals from Lily Aron, and powerful guitar solos (also from Aron), the production of the song is very high quality. After the first verse, the song begins to build, showcasing a level of power and anger, a trademark in many of Florence Road’s songs. This underlying disappointment and frustration is echoed through the lyrics, “I broke my tooth / On the way out of your room / Called you over Are you over? You don’t even look me over.” Although it isn’t the most memorable track on the EP, Hanging Out to Dry perfectly sets the tone for the proceeding songs. The song has so much emotion behind it, perfectly complemented by the strong instrumental and vocal performances.
The second track Miss, a highlight of the EP, perfectly bridges the gap between the sad and angry themes. The song is about missing a past relationship, almost to the point where you feel like they’re haunting you—and just how suffocating that feeling can be. It begins more soft and subdued; the lyrics are mainly reminiscent of a past relationship, and the tender moments that came with it. Aron sings, “Fill me up to the brim as the people cheer / I guess I’ll always miss you when you’re not here.” The song quickly transitions to a more rough, intense tone, as the guitar and drums become almost overbearing. Aron’s vocals sound incredibly desperate, singing “I cry over nothing / Sum up the contents / Wish I could feel you in my hair.” The track is probably the best on the EP, as everything from the vocals, to the lyrics, to the instrumentals tell a compelling, but also heartbreaking story, the emotion of which seems to be like an outpouring of grief.
Contrasting the anger that Hanging Out to Dry features, the third track Rabbits Can Swim is a heartbreaking ballad. The backbone of the song is an underlying feeling of desperation, until it gets to a “sink or swim” moment, symbolized by the title Rabbits Can Swim. The main instrumental is a soft piano that perfectly complements Aron’s amazing vocal performance. Every emotion that the song expresses—whether its passion, disappointment, or sadness—can be felt so genuinely throughout the track. The lyricism is also beautiful, with the verses, chorus, and outro never ceasing in quality. Aron sings going into the first chorus, “Let’s stand still /As the world burns slowly / Knock, knock on my door / Tell me you’re sure / Tell me you need me.”
Storm Warnings ends the EP off with a bang. Although slightly less dynamic than Miss, the track follows someone realizing early signs of a relationship, using the metaphor of storms, lightning, and hurricanes—imminent forms of destruction that brew over time, but come crashing down. It has a much faster tempo than the other songs, and is almost cinematic in a way. The instrumentals are almost meant to sound like a storm, but there’s still a beautiful sense of harmony in the chaos. Over the instrumentals, Aron sings, “Lightning strikes, two more fights, bark and bite / Tornado, gonna blow, break my bones / Storm warnings / Were they always there?” The sense of fear at these events echoes through the music, as does the regret at not being able to see things more clearly earlier.
Overall, the EP features a great selection of songs, impressive for a band this early into their career. All the tracks seem to have an immense amount of thought put into them. One drawback of the EP is that the three tracks sound somewhat similar, so if you’re looking for variety this new release might not be for you. Additionally, all of the songs tell very sad stories, and the honest performance of them is cathartic, but also can be somewhat of a downer if you’re in a good mood. Despite this, the performance was very well done. So, if you like Indie Rock and need a few quick songs to listen to, Spring Forward is a great pick.