With her defiant debut album, The Eldest Daughter, arriving on October 3 via Dualtone Records, alt-pop rising force Gatlin offers an early glimpse of what is to come. Rather than teasing with a single track, she unveils two: Happy and Pipe Dream, introducing the emotional range and sonic boldness that define her forthcoming project.
Happy takes the lead, a sweeping ballad that turns private darkness into communal release. Gatlin’s voice carries the weight of depression with raw candour, yet finds beauty in the vulnerability. “I started writing this song with my friend Carrie K a couple of years ago about my depression,” she admits. “It started when I was talking about how I would sometimes daydream about ending up in the hospital so then this guy I liked would come visit me and realise he was desperately in love with me… Peak of delusion!!!” The track, influenced by Avril Lavigne and Mazzy Star, expands into something both haunting and cathartic.
On the other side, Pipe Dream distils her doubts into just eighty-six seconds of synth-driven reflection. “This was the first track I ever self-produced,” she explains. “I had hit a point in my career where I was comparing everything to the success of my song What If I Love You. Nothing was even coming close… and my value and worth as a creative was very tied up in that.” The brevity makes the message sting even sharper, it’s a glimpse into the fears behind ambition.
Together, the tracks set the stage for The Eldest Daughter, a record that confronts Gatlin’s conservative upbringing, queerness, mental health, and creative independence with unflinching honesty. “This record is me exploring distance and perspective from my past, of owning the good and the bad and how they both informed the way I’ve made my own life,” Gatlin adds. "I know now who I am, where I'm from, and where I'm going." With over one hundred and fifty million streams already to her name, Gatlin is reclaiming her story, one vulnerable confession at a time.