CAMBRIDGE INDIE STAR ISLA MAE RELEASES SULTRY STYLE FUSION SINGLE ‘ROUND AND ROUND’

SINGLE REVIEW | ISLA MAE – ROUND AND ROUND by Martha Munro

Isla Mae is by no means new on the acoustic indie scene; over the last few years she’s been performing live at folk festivals, winning accolades such as Cambridge Band Competition’s Best Acoustic Act, and landing a spot in the This Is The Music Top 20 EP 2025… and, of course, releasing some spectacular music too.

This young singer-songwriter is best known for her emotive lyrics and effortless weaving together of styles, from folk and pop to jazz and soul. This dynamic new release ‘Round and Round’ veers further into the latter genres, using a syrupy style to elevate the tension rife in the lyrics – and the result is utterly addictive.

The track plays with the fictional inspiration of a dangerous magnetism, two people who just can’t seem to stop being pulled back together again and again, no matter how hard they try not to or how messy they know it will get. ‘Round and Round‘ has truly got it all: outstanding writing, sexy style, and a heavenly hook that you won’t be able to get out of your head. Picture BBC Live Lounge: it’s just Isla Mae, a few harmonising backup singers, and an acoustic guitar. That’s the vibe that immediately and consistently springs up from this single, an intimate live feel and passionate, skillful vocals. If Raye were to acoustic-ify one of her more fast-paced hits, I imagine it’d sound something like ‘Round and Round‘.

It kicks off with a smooth, quick tempo, carried in by Isla Mae’s atmospheric guitar strumming. As soon as she begins the scene-setting first verse – “We swore never again / We swore only as friends / We swore to try to pretend” – the intentional meshing of styles and influences is immediately apparent. Her usual soft, pitch-perfect, Billie-Eilish-esque voice moves within a faster lyric pace, jazzy rhythms and impressive vocal range more like that of artists like Raye, showing off the highs, lows and everything in between.

From this first verse, the lyrics are stunning, drawn not from personal experience but through a more conceptual lens, an approach to songwriting Isla Mae is highly practised in – and it shows. Each line is seductive and introspective in the same breath: “We sit in the not sure… We get hot in our hatred for staying.” And each harmony behind the main melody adds even more grit and gorgeous texture, again reminding the listener of modern rhythmic masterminds like Raye and Olivia Dean.

The lilting chorus and its rounds of “round and round” are bound to become your next earworm. But for once, you won’t be mad about it. Its syncopated beat is infinitely satisfying, and its repetition is indulgent, inviting, irresistible. And the playfulness doesn’t just extend to the refrain; in a short post-chorus, Isla Mae creates a bustle of sound, like overlapping, unclear conversations had and heard at a party. It’s a small detail, but so genius, as it immerses the listener even further into this imaginary world – these two people, laser-focused on one another even in the most elbow-close crowds, become even more real.

The lyrical push and pull deepens in the second verse, along with the harmonies and vocal intensity pushed even further into the spotlight. And this only elevates the second chorus when it comes, all passion and layers and fire. It’s safe to say I adore the way the song moves, and it’s also safe to say that it never stands still.

The bridge section perfectly highlights this with its simple strength and shortened repetition of the chorus’s first line: “Oh stop what you’re doing and…” It’s atmospheric, it’s emotive, it’s skillful, and it builds like a scream but with an artistry that can only be described as beautiful. This intense beauty continues and explodes in the final chorus, where Isla Mae lays everything out on the table. Even as the final guitar strums fades out, you’ll wish the song would come ’round and round again…’

We’ve seen Isla Mae go from strength to strength over the last couple of years, with singles and EPs that have broken through her every artistic ceiling each time. But I really mean it when I say I think ‘Round and Round‘ is her best yet.