Possessing a soulful voice to accompany her richly detailed songwriting, Vicki Brittle is emerging as one of Canada’s most distinctive and compelling musical artists. With three independent releases to her credit before the age of 23, the Ottawa Valley native has now teamed up with Toronto’s Coalition Music for her new single “It’s Only Love,” which seamlessly displays her skills at blending poptimism with roots-based simplicity.
Having released a previous version of “It’s Only Love” in 2019 that received over 500,000 Spotify streams, Vicki chose to record a new live-off-the-floor version at Coalition Music’s headquarters that will be offered as a dual single and video. For this take of the song, Vicki chose to play it on piano rather than guitar, on one hand a tribute to her Nan who originally showed her how to play the instrument, and on the other a well-timed return to the piano bench after stepping away during her healing process.
She found the overall experience at Coalition liberating, a final step in the (at times) agonizing road back from the heartbreak that inspired her to write the song. And as first impressions go, “It’s Only Love” makes a powerful one through the honesty ingrained in its words and how they’re conveyed.
It’s the next step on Vicki’s journey that began when she was 12, singing anthems at local hockey games, to making her debut at Ottawa Bluesfest in 2018. Although big things undoubtedly lay ahead, she will always be a small-town girl at heart, something that gives her music, and “It’s Only Love” in particular, undeniable charm.