We Speak Music
Softly purring vocals and pensive beauty on new Michele Ducci single ‘It’s Hard to be Easily Loved’
Following the release of his debut solo album, ‘SIVE’, in June, Michele Ducci, former member of dance-pop duo M+A and and Hip Hop duo Santii, returned to the studio to tape some new live recordings of alternative versions of several tracks from ‘SIVE’ plus a few new songs, including new single ‘It’s Hard to be Easily Loved’.
The single is out now, accompanied by a video of Ducci performing the song against an atmospheric backdrop of watercolour paintings created by Ducci and Letizia Mandolesi.
Like a warm blanket on a foggy autumn evening, ‘It’s Hard to be Easily Loved’ envelops you in Ducci’s softly purring vocals, backed by sparsely strummed nylon guitar. The chorus ramps up the warmth with the addition of Letizia Mandolesi’s softly vocalised ‘Aaahs’. Yet another pensive beauty from Michele Ducci’s impressive solo catalogue.
Says Ducci, “I was improvising with the nylon guitar while it was raining and slowly It’s Hard to Be Easily Loved began to form. It’s the first song among other unpublished songs that I’m doing live and that will be released at the beginning of next year.
Being loved or understood, at times, seems to work like those strange crossings that are the changes of the season, or like falling asleep. It can be very difficult and seems to happen, if it happens and when it happens, out of time. So every expectation appears to be a useless expense. A nylon and paw-legged organ song came out of it that reminds me of the yellow fog that makes the paraeidoly of a cat in the poem The Love Song of A.J. Prufrock by Elliot:
“Slipped by the terrace, made a sudden leap,
And seeing that it was a soft October night,
Curled once about the house, and fell asleep.”
We Speak Music
Megan Burke Turns Personal Experience into Pop Catharsis on ‘Not All Men, Apparently’
Megan Burke’s debut EP Not All Men, Apparently arrives with a title designed to provoke conversation, but beneath its pointed framing lies a deeply personal collection of songs rooted in lived experience. The project sees the Irish artist tackling themes of heartbreak, deception and emotional recovery with an unfiltered honesty that has become increasingly rare within contemporary pop.
Produced by Hungarian hitmaker Áron Somody, the EP documents Burke’s journey through a series of difficult relationships, transforming private frustrations into universally relatable songwriting. Rather than presenting neat resolutions, the songs lean into complexity, examining the lingering impact of toxic dynamics while charting a gradual path towards self-awareness. It is this willingness to confront uncomfortable truths that gives the record its emotional weight.
Among the collection’s standout moments is Make Me, the focus track that introduces a welcome sense of levity. Written as a break from the darker material surrounding it, the song captures a more playful side of Burke’s personality, embracing independence and spontaneity without abandoning the candid perspective that defines the wider project. Its inclusion adds balance to a release that might otherwise feel relentlessly introspective.
Burke’s rise has been built largely on her ability to connect directly with audiences, amassing a substantial online following while earning notable milestones including a No.1 iTunes chart position and performances at some of Ireland’s biggest venues. With Not All Men, Apparently, she delivers her most cohesive artistic statement yet, confirming her status as a compelling new voice in Irish pop and a songwriter unafraid to tell difficult stories.
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