Paloma Faith tells you How To Leave A Man on bombastic new single

Paloma Faith gets it. Sometimes, you just have to pack up and leave. On How You Leave A Man - her first new single in two years and a bombastic re-introduction to her world - she gives you a handy guide on just how to do it. 

Paloma has always lived in a vintage world of pop music, she has made some of the best swooning, orchestral laments this side of the 1950s, including the devastating Picking Up The Pieces and the TikTok mega-hit Only Love Can Hurt Like This. And, sure, she has dipped her toe in the banger pond from time to time (let's not forget Paloma has topped the Official Singles Chart - on Sigma's booming Changing - in 2014) but How You Leave A Man is perhaps her most instantly engaging single. 

Set over a booming, almost chamber-pop-esque beat, all rollicking drums, rockabilly guitars and a thrilling insert of a screaming choir (there should be more screaming choirs in pop songs, right?) How To Leave A Man starts as it means to go on.

'He'll know when you're tired of neglect and degraded,' Paloma sings. 'He'll find out when he wakes up alone. He'll call you ten thousand times but don't take it, don't take it...'

Say it again, sister!

MORE: See where all of Paloma Faith's singles and albums have charted in the UK

When the chorus hits, it really hits. Co-written by Paloma with big-time US hitmakers JKash (Selena Gomez, Maroon 5), Andrew Wells (Halsey, Meghan Trainor) and Charlie Puth (Selena Gomez, Katy Perry) and Elle King (best known for her solo hit Ex's and Oh's - banger) and produced by Martin Wave (NCT Dream, Grayson Chance), How To Leave A Man may have all the trademarks of a classic pop chrous, but it gives Paloma's distinct vocals the room to breathe and emote all the pain and trauma she's exorcising in the song. 

'This is how you leave a man,' she states, 'make him really understand, he'll do anything he can to try and pull you closer, tell you that it ain't over. Remember what I told you; this is how you leave a man!' 

After Only Love Can Hurt Like This became a sleeper viral hit across TikTok, no-one would have blamed Paloma for leaning into the balladry once more for her upcoming new album (set to release next year), but we actually think it's a braver choice to move away from that. As we've said above, she's done the ballads, and done them extremely well. 

The lyrical content, empowering too, steps away from the message of Paloma's previous material, the aforementioned songs cast love as a battle to be won, something that you need to compromise yourself for to make it worth it in end. But not anymore. She's seen the light. She's out the door! We would all do well to follow. 

As far as opening statements go for her new album, How You Leave A Man sets her stall out very clearly. It's basically Paloma's Rolling In The Deep, we've also found some pleasing parallels to Miley Cyrus's world-conquering monster smash Flowers (the biggest song of 2023 so far in the UK!!).

Sometimes, pop's greatest surprises come along when you're least expecting them. 

How You Leave A Man drops October 11 via Sony.