Bloom in the Break: A Heartfelt Album Launch by Chloe Stroll

On September 9th, Canadian singer-songwriter Chloe Stroll gave an intimate preview of her debut album Bloom in the Break, where she performed songs to a live audience for the first time. The plush, dimly lit venue at Langan’s in Mayfair was a fitting backdrop to an emotional evening, with Stroll’s captivating lyrics taking centre stage.

The event featured a Q&A with Kate Thornton, a Greatest Hits Radio DJ and one of the earliest presenters of The X Factor. She guided the evening with humour and insight, offering the audience a glimpse into Stroll’s creative writing process.

The album has been five years in the making and reflects Stroll’s talent for storytelling that is both raw and relatable. Several of the songs were written during Stroll’s pregnancy, which she described as a deeply transformative time for her songwriting.

The Canadian singer performed three of these songs, including the first song on the album ‘You’re OK’.

The lyrics were poignant and hit alarmingly close to home.

“It's like the lights went out when you went away”

“To navigate the darkness how long will it take”

Although the lyrics are inspired by the passing of her grandmother, the song is about the feeling of loss more generally. In the Q&A, Stroll explained her desire “to capture the sadness, but also the acceptance that sometimes, what is best for that person is no longer on earth.”

For Stroll, the writing of ‘You’re OK’ was a healing and personal process, and the singer had a moment of vulnerability in sharing the difficulty of performing this song in front of people.

In contrast, the second track provided a lively, punchy change in pace. Growing with confidence, Stroll shined during her performance of ‘I Stood My Ground’, which was delivered with bold and jazzy undertones.

“My world was breaking/ I stood my ground Earth was shaking”

“My mind’s made of stone/ I’m not shying away”

This song is about sticking to your values and refusing to doubt yourself. Stroll needn’t have worried. The audience was enraptured by the anthem, and it was clear the singer has come a long way since her first showcase in London several years ago, where casual jeans and nerves marked her open mic night performance. Stroll’s impressive track record dates back even further than this, where at just seven years old, she was already writing her first song.

The track ‘I Stood My Ground’ was co-written with Grammy Award-winning producer Walter Afanasieff, who is best known for his work with Mariah Carey and Celine Dion. A number of songs in the album were also co-written and co-produced with Walter, with other collaborators on Bloom in the Break including Swagg R’Celious and Kevin Bard.

The third and final song was a personal favourite of Stroll’s. Delivered softly, but with the confidence from her earlier performance, ‘Home’ had genuine warmth and was filled with heartfelt sincerity.

This song is an unflinching ballad about her relationship with Olympic snowboarder Scotty James and is one that Stroll hopes will be performed at someone’s wedding. Indeed, Stroll confessed, “when I got married, I felt, ‘you’re my home’ about my husband. It’s not four walls. It’s not wherever we are, it’s wherever you are.” A true testament to the emotional richness that the singer draws from her personal life and into the songwriting.

Together, the three songs offer a hint into what Bloom in the Break is about: loss, love and resilience. The careful balance between vulnerability and strength in this album will resonate with anyone who has faced moments of doubt or heartbreak.

 

After a mesmerising performance, I had the chance to speak to Stroll in more detail about the album. I started by asking what Bloom in the Break meant as a title. She explained that it refers to a beautiful flower that still manages to grow through broken glass. No matter how much pain or adversity someone faces, there is always beauty or a blessing that can be found.

When questioned if there was a particular song that represents this message, Stroll immediately jumped to ‘I Stood My Ground’. It’s a song that represents feeling confidence and conviction during pain, but Stroll also admitted it was the hardest track to write. “Between the melody, the lyrics, and making sure everything lined up the way that it should was the most challenging, for sure.”

Other songs, such as ‘Prisoner’, also proved difficult to write, but equally rewarding. “Lyrically, Prisoner was a tough one to write, and it depends if you're okay to re-live grief and re-live those memories. It was not easy.”

Turning to the creative process, I invited Stroll to explain how her songs come together. Refreshingly, she told me that sticking to old-fashioned pen and paper was one of her preferred methods. A notebook filled with random ideas and lyrics proved a good way to spark inspiration. “But when I’m co-writing then I'll miss things because I don't write fast enough,” she laughed.

However, the process for brainstorming a music video is different altogether. From the start, Stroll has a clear vision in her head of what she anticipates the video to look like. For the song ‘Home’, the singer said she “really wanted it to feel like a Disney movie”, which guided both her writing process and creating the music video.

Finishing on a poignant note, Stroll leaves her fans with an important message. For her, the beauty of lyrics lies in how they can take on whatever meaning that listeners need them to. No matter how much frustration or loss you face in life, there is always a way to get through.

I personally can't wait to hear the upcoming 12-track album Bloom in the Break, which will be released on September 12th. You can pre-save Bloom in the Break HERE.

Listen to Chloe Stroll's album:

Photos by: Dave Benett