“I really believe in the magic and the power of music. Songs can often feel like spells,” beams singer-songwriter Maisie Peters. Back in London for just a few days, sandwiched between tour dates, the artist is contemplating her upcoming sophomore studio album, The Good Witch, on the set of her Wonderland shoot. With nods to fantastical childhood tales and references to witch hunts, the 23-year-old blends the line between fact and fiction, creating an honest and mystical space between.

At its core, the album is a coming-of-age story, a brilliant description of the dizzying reality of the twenty-something years. Love, happiness, heartbreak, devastation, confusion, and anger: those all-encompassing emotions that feel larger than life during the primary throes of adulthood weave in and out of the tracklist. But while these themes are present throughout, Peters assures me that she was seeking refuge from their complex grip whilst penning these tracks. “If I felt out of control in my personal life, this album was my little universe where I could say and do what I wanted to and make characters say and do what I wanted from them.”

If her debut, You Signed Up For This, served as a snapshot of the adolescent experience and a farewell to her teen years, The Good Witch was expectedly the start of a new age. Take first single “Body Better” as an example. A deeply personal cut, it captures the insecurities that surface after a sudden end to a relationship — the torturous ruminating whilst trying to understand why it didn’t work out. “I wanted to begin with “Body Better” because I wanted to start with a real intent,” she explains. “I’m serious about music and I want to be an artist with longevity. I think to do that, you have to be prepared to sacrifice — you have to be vulnerable, you have to open up and give something of yourself.”

When it comes to songwriting, it’s easy to see how seriously Peters takes her craft. Attention to detail is rife as she spins literary references and mythology into early 2000s pop-esque power and a decade-defining tone akin to Lorde’s Melodrama. “Because I write pop music, I’m looking to say something concisely,” she lets on. “I want people to understand what I’m saying.” And it is safe to say she has achieved what she set out to do. Putting the most complicated emotions into direct terms, she creates music that resonates with the 20-somethings of today.

It’s hard to pick a standout track from The Good Witch, but Peters’ own personal favourite is a good place to start. A beautiful ode to her on-stage team, “The Band And I” details their experience touring around the United States in a bus, playing live shows, and meeting the fans. “It’s a song you only really write once. It embodies this huge part of my life and it’s so special to be able to sing about that every night on tour.” There is also the title track, which explodes into a compilation of voice notes from Peters’ closest friends and cheers from her Webster Hall show. However, “Coming Of Age” is one of the most poignant of the album, reminding us that we hold power over our own narratives. “It’s a very easy thing to do to give so much magic to somebody else. And I’m a songwriter, so I’ll have my muses and think they’re God’s gift to the world,” she laughs. “It can be beautiful, but why have we given them so much power? Take it back! Give it to yourself. Recast the film.”

It is clear that Peters fights the battles she faces with her craft. “If you sing about something enough, it begins to work its way into what’s really happening,” she says. As true as this may be, I am left assured that Peters’ success is more than manifestation. It is pure magic.