Across five deeply personal tracks, she captures the ache of remembering, the hesitation of moving on, and the delicate tightrope walk between vulnerability and strength.
Stylistically, the EP dances between the soft, sunlit indie pop of Alvvays and the melancholic bedroom musings of Clairo, all while carrying the gentle intimacy of The Japanese House. But where some artists lean into detached coolness, Money leans into warmth. There’s an openness to her lyricism and an unfiltered honesty that makes each song feel like a confession whispered in the dark.
Opener 'Milk & Honey' immediately sets the tone. This is a track soaked in golden-hour light yet laced with quiet self-doubt. Over delicate guitar lines and airy synths, she reflects on a relationship where things didn't work out, but something means it can't be let go of: "It breaks my heart to see ya / Fake love with someone different again / I'm always broken". That last line stings. What was once something rich and sweet now feels like someone else's memory. The way Money delivers it, emotive but resigned, makes it all the more heartbreaking.
Then comes 'I'm Not Proud', a deliciously conflicted track, full of playful melodies and a heartbeat rhythm that pulses like an unshakable crush. The lyrics are strikingly direct: "I'm thinking about you when she goes down / And I would do nothing / I'm thinking about your body when she goes down". It’s a feeling most people would keep private, but Polly Money's honesty is the backbone of this track. The giddy thrill of liking someone you shouldn’t, the internal tug-of-war between excitement and guilt. The shimmering, retro-tinged production calls to mind the effervescent charm of Beabadoobee, proving that Money knows how to package emotional turmoil into something irresistibly catchy.
The EP reaches its emotional core with '30 Minutes', perhaps the most strikingly vulnerable moment on the record. With Phoebe Bridgers-esque restraint, Money paints a picture of painful self awareness: "I broke her heart just to fix my own / Walked through the dark and into the moonlight / I can't take back the things I've done." The starkness of those words is breathtaking; they sit in the song like an unanswered text, hanging heavy with meaning. The track never builds to a dramatic climax because heartbreak doesn’t always come with fireworks; sometimes, it just settles into the background like static.
Title track 'T-Shirt' feels like the EP’s thesis statement - soft, bittersweet, and impossibly tender. The song is a love beginning and blossoming with hope for the future: "T-Shirt, nothing else / She holds me from behind / Gold light through the kitchen window / I could get used to this life." There’s something so deeply human in that image, illustrating the feeling we have all had when love is so sweet in the beginning. It evokes a nostalgic feeling, a wish for things to feel that way again. The track floats in a dreamlike haze, with hushed percussion and glowing synths that make it feel like a half-remembered summer evening.
The EP closes with 'Anything', a reflection on self-worth and wishing someone would just GET you. She sings, "You know I hide it so well / That you never even pick up on it / I'm never struggling", and the vulnerability in her voice is palpable. The instrumental swells around her like a tide, rising and falling with the push and pull of self-doubt. It’s a poignant ending - rather than offering a neat resolution to love, it leaves the listener sitting with the same unanswered questions Money herself seems to be grappling with. There is a significant nod to the age-old battle between the head and the heart.
What makes 'T-Shirt Nothing Else' so compelling is its ability to capture the ghosts of past love, the fleeting nature of happiness, and the quiet insecurities that whisper in the back of your mind. Money’s songwriting is both deeply personal and universally resonant, a diary entry turned into melody.
It’s an EP for anyone who has ever kept an ex’s hoodie a little too long, for those who have driven aimlessly just to see if something might change, for the ones who feel like they’re always on the outside looking in. With 'T-Shirt Nothing Else', Polly Money doesn’t just revisit the past, she makes it impossible to forget.
Ellie McWilliam
Image: 'T-shirt Nothing Else' Official EP Cover
