Artwork credit: Tovah Rosenthal

With her unique, powerful voice and the gentle strum of her guitar, Philly-based songstress Annalise Curtin has once again captivated us with one of her most vulnerable releases to date.

“Heading Out Soon” dives deep into Curtin’s processing of her own relationships. The raw indie-acoustic tune is an introspective look at the ways our independence becomes compromised in ill-fated relationships, with Curtin taking account of her own personal battle in that realm.

“This song is both exciting and honestly embarrassing to share. This one was especially tough to come to terms with, as it showed me how much my relationship affected me. I lost my independence completely with him, and lost the trust I had in others. Now, I’m coming to terms with the fact that I am the reason why things don’t work out,” Curtin said. “I was comforting a friend through a recent breakup, and we got talking about how it’s hard to accept that people can take a part of you with them. It can be hard to not resent that. The innocence you lost, or perhaps you were happier before them. I realized that I lost my trust in people after my breakup.”

The single — which Curtin calls her most personal song since 2013’s “Battle” — was recorded with Mattie Klauser, who laid down the bass line on “Heading Out Soon.” Rounding things out was Nolee Morris, whose gentle percussion drives the track forward, while allowing the listener room to digest its message.

“It is so hard to admit that you don’t want to go through life alone. It is also hard to realize you are the one pushing others away,” Curtin said. “In my last attempt at some sort of connection, I realized I was terrified of them and was completely afraid to trust them. But it didn’t matter, because they weren’t staying anyway, and I actually found that comforting.