Wearing her heart on her sleeve, Cruel is the unabashed and irresistibly catchy new single from ROE.

As a 20-year-old woman, the world might sometimes feel a bit cruel and a bit uncontrollable but Irish multi-instrumentalist Roisin Donald, aka ROE, has flipped this on its head as she confidently blazes ahead with her creative endeavours. Her newest single, Cruel, is a continuation of the path she has forged for herself but with a refreshed sound, look, and vigour.

Emboldened by assured guitars and thrumming bass lines, ROE honestly delivers her perspective on toxic relationships and personalises the common feeling of being stuck with someone who is holding you back. Her laid-back vocals may pull you in, but you won’t feel too lulled into comfort as the bruising guitars and sassy lyrics become an earworm you can’t (and won’t want to) ignore.

Speaking more on the meaning behind the track, ROE shares:

‘Cruel’ was written about wanting to care for someone who doesn’t deserve the loyalty. It’s about being brainwashed into only seeing the good in somebody and thinking that they’re this huge part of your personality that you’d be lost without, when in reality they’re only dragging you down.