Songwriting can be a great exercise in catharsis, but to process your innermost thoughts and feelings this way means sharing them with the world. Understandably it’s a real struggle to be so openly vulnerable with anyone who cares to listen, and most artists take many years to build up their confidence before they can truly let their defences down. Winnie Raeder, with her debut single, has released the most raw and honest track you’re likely to hear this year. Written about desperately refusing to face the truth of the one you love leaving, ‘Don’t You Dare’ beautifully juxtaposes Winnie’s soulful pleading vocals with the sparse piano arrangement. Showing the two sides of heartbreak, the tempest of inner emotion and conflict and the bleak, hollow emptiness of loss, with such candour and conviction. Winnie has proven herself to be a fearless songwriter, a passionate performer, and a real artist to admire with just this one track.