New Music Friday: Rowlene unpacks love and heartbreak on her new album " Some Strings Attached"

There’s a point after a breakup when the relationship may be over, but everything connected to it hasn’t quite disappeared yet. The memories are still there, certain places still mean something and, every now and then, a reminder can take you straight back to a feeling you thought you were done with. Rowlene explores this emotional grey area throughout her latest album, Some Strings Attached.

Across ten tracks, the South African singer-songwriter works through the end of a long-term relationship without trying to turn it into a perfectly packaged story about heartbreak and healing. Instead, the album moves through the different emotions that come with untangling yourself from someone: distance, anger, nostalgia, attachment and the gradual realisation that you’re starting to move on.

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Exclusive: Rowlene opens up about music, vulnerability and creative evolution

Rowlene's ltest album, Strings Attached. Image: Supplied

Sonically, Rowlene stays close to the R&B and soul that listeners know her for, while bringing African influences into the mix. But it’s the writing that gives the project its intimacy. At different points she sounds hurt, frustrated, reflective and increasingly sure of herself.

The album’s tracklist follows the emotional progression of a relationship ending and the process of slowly detaching from it. It begins in a place of uncertainty, moving through emotional distance on “Disconnected” and the sting of unexpected memories on “Hurts 2b Reminded”. As the album progresses, Rowlene becomes more direct, confronting broken promises on “Calling You Out” before questioning whether a no-strings-attached connection can ever truly be free of emotion.

As Some Strings Attached unfolds, there’s a noticeable shift in how Rowlene processes the relationship. “Bittersweet”, featuring IAN LOVLY, acknowledges that good memories can coexist with a painful ending, while “Invisible Thread Theory” considers the invisible ties that can keep two people connected even after a relationship is over. The sense of moving forward becomes more apparent on “I Don’t Miss You Like Before”, with Rowlene recognising the quieter signs that she is moving forward.

The album closes with “More Room”, featuring Jesse Clegg, where the space once occupied by a relationship begins to feel less like a loss and more like an opportunity for peace, creativity and something new. It brings the project full circle without suggesting that healing requires forgetting everything that came before. The relationship still happened, the memories still exist, but they no longer need to dictate what happens next.