Harriet "Drop in the Ocean"

The cover for Harriet's single, "Drop in the Ocean," 2023.

The British singer Harriet is one of my favorite singers, and her new album The Outcome, will be released on May 12, 2023. Harriet’s song “Drop in the Ocean” was released at the end of January as the second single off the new album-the first single was the excellent “Nothing Hurts Like You,” backed with Harriet’s cover of the classic ABBA song “The Winner Takes It All,” which I reviewed here.  

“Drop in the Ocean” is a bit of a different sound for Harriet, as it’s more of a dance pop tune than the 1970’s-inspired melodic pop style that Harriet usually favors. The instrumentation of the song centers mainly around keyboards and bass. Lyrically, the song deals with the end of a relationship, as Harriet consoles this listener with the catchy chorus: “It’s just a drop, drop, drop in the ocean/Stop, stop, stop at the notion/One tear doesn’t amount to much/This little drop, drop, drop in the ocean/Flood, flood, flooded an ocean/One tear never is quite enough.”  

“Drop in the Ocean” is a fun departure from Harriet’s usual style, and the song highlights her rich, warm voice. It will be interesting to see if some of the other songs on The Outcome follow the more pop sound of “Drop in the Ocean.” You can pre-order The Outcome in various formats from Harriet’s website, including on cassette tape with two different alternate cover art designs to choose from. Don’t worry, if you really can’t pick between the two cassettes, you can get a bundle with both of them.