Ten minute tea with Afternoon Tea. Spend ten minutes with Afternoon Tea. In the time it takes to boil one kettle, and let one cup of tea steep, we will have your daily art + music fix covered. Take your afternoon break with our Afternoon Tea curators. Need an extra lump of sugar? One more sip? If you have five minutes more (or ten), we have one more hit.
Today’s tea + soundtrack + visuals curated by Scarlett Macfarlane.
Scarlett Macfarlane shares her latest single, “Sorry,” a deeply personal and emotionally charged pop-rock single that leans into themes of regret, self-reflection, and the complicated path toward forgiveness. Balancing pensive introspection with soaring, cathartic release, “Sorry” captures the weight of late-night thoughts and the quiet courage it takes to face them head-on.
“I wrote the song based on a bad night’s sleep due to some negative inner voices and an overactive mind,” Scarlett explains. “I wanted to be vulnerable about my inner demons and hope that anyone who heard it could feel seen, feel safe to recognize that we all make mistakes, big and small, and join me in the journey of self-acceptance.” Originally titled “Regret,” the song evolved into something more direct and universal. “It was always an apology: to others, to the world, to myself.”
Stream + share “Sorry” now:
What makes “Sorry” especially striking is its duality: a song that feels both humbling and empowering in equal measure. While it confronts the discomfort of accountability, it also embraces the strength required to be honest without diminishing one’s own experience. That tension runs throughout the track, building from hushed vulnerability into a powerful, full-bodied release.
The recording process itself mirrored that emotional intensity. “I wrote the first draft of this song in my car crying outside my gym,” Scarlett shares. “Recording it was liberating. Making the voices I heard in my head exist in real life was profound.” Those voices remain embedded in the song’s DNA; most notably in the layered, whispered intro where fragments of real, unspoken apologies are woven into the texture as a deeply personal and largely hidden detail.
Sonically, “Sorry” blends alt-pop sensitivity with pop-rock weight, gradually expanding into a dynamic, emotionally charged arrangement. The track’s final moments deliver a powerful sense of release, with Scarlett’s vocal performance reaching a place that feels both unfiltered and transformative. “Belting out that last chorus really is like therapy every single time,” she says.
SONG: “My Mess” by Myles Smith
My musical taste is multi-faceted and I have a hard time picking “just one” of anything (which will feel relevant in a moment). Recently I keep coming back to the vocals on this new song from Myles Smith (“My Mess”): The part when he says “Sorry I’m so goddamn indecisive, I was raised just to do as I’m told, and I hate the way that I’m still like this. I’m still learning to walk on my own…”
Something about the way he sings the melody and the lyrics themselves connect together in a way that makes me want to write a song myself. That’s how I know I love a song. It inspires me to write one of my own. It makes me want to become a better songwriter.
VISUAL: I have a dear friend, Joel Riley, who is a photographer. He’s responsible for a lot of the cover art photos for my music, and his photos are literally all over my apartment alongside my sister’s artwork. Here is one of my favorite photos of his, it really puts you in the scene:
You can view more of his photos on his new instagram page:
TEA: Peppermint Tea. Always peppermint tea. I have basically a lifetime supply sized box in my pantry. It’s somehow soothing, and also delicious.
Tea + Me 