In their latest introspective piece for Blunt, Belle Haven takes us on a raw and emotional journey through the five stages of grief, captured in their music over the last 12 years. From the chaotic denial of their debut album Everything Ablaze to the hard-fought acceptance in their 2023 singles, Belle Haven reflects on how their evolving sound mirrors their own growth as a band and as individuals. This is not just a reflection on grief—it’s a powerful story of healing, transformation, and embracing the future with open hearts.
The Five Stages of Grief Through the Music of Belle Haven
Looking back on the last 12 years, it’s wild to realise that we’ve written our way through the five stages of grief. It wasn’t planned, but now, each release feels like it captures a piece of that journey. As we’ve grown, our music has grown too—moving through denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and finally, acceptance. Here’s how it all unfolded:
Denial – Everything Ablaze
Our debut album, Everything Ablaze, had this chaotic, almost frantic energy to it, which makes so much sense now. It was like we were running full speed into something new while avoiding the reality of how intense this whole thing really was. Denial is all over those tracks, even if we didn’t see it at the time. The opening lyric of The Looking Glass—“I swear that I’m getting better, I swear that I’ve changed”—really nails that “we’re fine, everything’s fine” vibe while we were still figuring out what the hell we were doing.
Anger – You, Me, and Everything in Between
Then came You, Me, and Everything in Between, and yeah… we were angry. At ourselves, at the industry, at everything. That frustration is written all over the lyrics (seriously, pick a song, any song). We were trying to figure out who we were as a band and as people, and it wasn’t always smooth. But anger can be fuel, and this album was us fighting back, clawing our way through when it felt like everything was slipping.
Bargaining – Forget Me & Moving On
By the time we got to Forget Me and Moving On, we were in full-on bargaining mode. Trying to make sense of all the chaos, asking ourselves, “What if?” and “How do we move forward without letting go of everything?” The lyric “I said please don’t forget me / Please don’t shake your head and leave this kid all by himself” from Forget Me captures that inner struggle—wanting to hold on to what we had, but lowkey knowing something had to give. These two songs were a delicate balance between hope and heartbreak, figuring out what to keep and what to let go.
Depression – Time Changes Nothing EP
Time Changes Nothing is where things got heavy. This EP was our deep dive into darker emotions—depression, feeling stuck, loss. There’s no sugarcoating it; we were sitting with all those feelings instead of trying to run away. It wasn’t about finding answers but about letting ourselves feel the weight of everything. The lyric “There’s no silver lining so, what’s the point in even trying?” taken from Nobody Likes A Hospital, kind of sums up the whole vibe of the EP.
Acceptance – 2023 Singles
Our 2023 singles? This is where acceptance kicks in. Not in an “everything’s great now” kind of way, but more of a “we’ve made peace with the past” sort of way. Hard Stare, Soft Touch has the lyric: “I tried, tough luck, another time? Or not…” and it’s a reflection of where we were—finally feeling grounded like we’re seeing things as they really were. We’ve accepted that our journey is what it is, and we’ve grown from it. These songs feel lighter, more hopeful, about accepting the past and looking forward to whatever comes next.
A New Chapter: Breaking the Cycle with something new
With something new, we’re stepping into a fresh chapter. For the first time, it feels like we’re not being defined by the grief or pain we’ve been working through for so long. This project feels like a reset, a chance to step away from the weight of the past and embrace what’s ahead.
We’ve spent years digging through our emotions in our music, but now we’re creating from a place of renewal. something new is exactly what it sounds like—it’s Belle Haven stepping into the unknown with open hearts and a clear sense of who we are. We’re not closing the book; we’re just writing the next chapter.
You can listen to Belle Haven’s new EP ‘something new’ here
