Duncan Horlock, the solo artist tucked just south of London and crafting pop songs out of a former photographic studio, continues to carve out a space for himself in music with vulnerability and heart. His newest single, “Wish You Were Here,” is a poignant piano ballad that strips everything back—no flashy production, no overdone layers—just raw feeling and a story you can feel in your chest. Written in the wake of his mother’s passing, the song captures the aching silence of absence, the kind that sits next to you in familiar rooms and lingers in old photographs. It’s gentle but devastating, filled with that specific kind of longing where every ordinary moment suddenly becomes extraordinary because of who’s no longer there to share it.
Duncan wrote the song on his mum’s red sofa, with a photo album open beside him—a setting so intimate you can almost feel the stillness in the air. It’s this sense of honesty that makes the track resonate so deeply. There’s a clarity in the lyrics, a conversational directness, that recalls the likes of Lewis Capaldi, Tom Odell, and early Ed Sheeran. You don’t just hear what Duncan’s saying—you live it with him.
Following his debut single, I Love You So Much It Hurts, which introduced his pop sensibilities through an 80s-inspired lens, “Wish You Were Here” marks a shift in tone but not in intention. It’s still about connection, still about emotion—but this time, it’s quieter. He isn’t trying to dazzle; he’s just trying to share something real. In a world of overproduced noise, this kind of simplicity feels brave.
There’s a lot more to come from Duncan Horlock this year, but “Wish You Were Here” already feels like a milestone—one of those rare songs that feels like it needed to be written, not for the charts or a playlist, but for the sake of memory, grief, and love. And when a song is made for something that personal, it has a way of sticking with you.
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