Australian artist aleksiah unpacks perfectionism, strain, and pop catharsis in “The Hit,” a searing, aptly-titled standout off her newest EP ‘Cry About It’ that turns unfiltered emotion and the overwhelming drive to create one thing nice into one thing plain – and irresistibly catchy.
Stream: “The Hit” – aleksiah
Songwriting, or something that you just’re actually enthusiastic about, can form of be like a poisonous relationship – you at all times need to do properly, to please somebody, continuously chasing after that rush of validation. It may be like a drug.
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Validation is a hell of a drug – and aleksiah chases that top with fireplace and finesse on “The Hit.”
A daring, glistening standout off her new EP Cry About It (launched July 11th by way of Chugg Music and Stellar Set off), this track hits like a jolt to the system: All pulsing beats, glowing synths, and emotionally uncooked vocals that ache and soar in equal measure. Suppose MUNA meets Lily Allen, with a contact of 2010s “recession pop” – all wrapped round a voice that pulls you in and doesn’t let go.
I obtained the assistance I would like
I do know the grass is inexperienced
I don’t assume I’ll ever be,
be sufficient for you
Hung up on jealousy
Caught on a melody
Discovering the lacking piece
inside my bed room
I would like the identical as you
Not less than I believe I do
I do know that I’m sure to lose
this match between us
A lock and a pair keys
Harness and heavy leash
Makin’ it exhausting to go away
“Oh, it’s the hit that cuts me to my core / When the writing’s on the wall / Possibly this’ll be my downfall…” the Adelaide, Australia-based singer/songwriter belts, her voice simmering with self-awareness and desperation. Written alone in a resort room, “The Hit” is concerning the strain to create one thing nice – to be nice – and the push of validation that comes with it.
Now it, it’s as much as me
It’s a thousand levels
And each second, each minute,
it will get more durable to breathe
Once I don’t really feel the push
When the phrases usually are not sufficient
Once I’m lookin’ on the web page
and I’m pretendin’ that it’s love
“I had simply listened to certainly one of my favourite songs, ‘Love Music’ by Sara Bareilles, and I liked the way it may very well be seen from two factors of view, feeling pressured to make successful track and a relationship, so I wished to strive my hand on the identical factor,” aleksiah tells Atwood Journal.
“The track is about feeling unworthy, and having that exterior (however largely inside) strain on you to do properly. However then you could possibly spin the story and browse it like a track a few poisonous relationship, and that ‘the hit’ is the validation you get from being with somebody, and the way it’s nearly like a drug.”
We really feel that duality – of longing and collapse, of pouring your full self into one thing which may simply break you – come to life within the track’s charged and churning refrain, the place aleksiah rises to a frenzied fever pitch. Her voice resonates with coronary heart, ardour, and urgency as synths pulse in time along with her, and abruptly we’re within the thick of it – caught within the high-stakes push-pull of self-worth and self-destruction. Her phrases, underscored by the dazzling emotion packed into her voice, turns the push of validation into each a lifeline and a legal responsibility. The hit, in each sense, is the drug and the harm – the rationale she retains reaching, and the rationale it hurts a lot:
Oh, it’s the hit that cuts me to my core
When the writing’s on the wall
Possibly this’ll be my downfall
Child, it’s the hit that will get me via the night time
Leaves me thinkin’ that I’m superb
Within the mornin’ I’ll be all yours
Child, it’s ooh, approach you have a look at me
Inform me it’s future, “we may make historical past”
Oh child, it’s the hit that cuts me to the core
Leaves me dyin’ on the ground
Possibly this’ll be my downfall, downfall
I used to be feeling fairly down, and had numerous strain not solely from others, however primarily from myself to put in writing the right track.
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That duality is the guts of “The Hit” – a dance between craving and collapse, between ambition and unraveling. “For me it’s about placing a lot strain on myself to do properly. I’ve at all times been an individual that places numerous pleasure and numerous perception within the issues I do, which I swear goes to kill me in the long run,” aleksiah says wryly. “Don’t really feel the push / And the phrases usually are not sufficient / Like I’m lookin’ at a river and pretendin’ it’s a flood.” She’s chasing perfection, even when it hurts – capturing in track the catharsis that comes from lastly admitting how a lot it takes out of you.
“It might not sound like a very private track, however the scenario the track speaks about is extremely near my chest.”
Lackin’ the empathy
Sincere and hellish we
Naturally disagree and may’t escape it
Knowin’ you’re unhealthy for me
Battle it like gravity
You make it so exhausting to go away
Now it, it’s as much as me
It’s so exhausting to consider
There’s nothin’ left to make a multitude of
Guess I’m runnin’ out of steam, ’trigger I
Don’t really feel the push
And the phrases usually are not sufficient
Like I’m lookin’ at a river
and pretendin’ it’s a flood
“The Hit” marks a shift on Cry About It, falling on the EP’s B-side and signaling a sonic and emotional evolution. “The final two songs I wrote for the EP had been ‘Garments Off’ and ‘The Hit,’ that are much more poppy and at this time limit, I’m actually resonating with that sound,” she explains. “I believe ‘The Hit’ actually suits in with the second half of the EP.” Impressed by writers like Sara Bareilles and her personal childhood love of “miserable songs with enjoyable pop beats,” aleksiah makes music that feels each deeply private and universally felt – for “folks that take themselves a bit too severely, however want they didn’t (me).”
“I hope listeners know they’re not alone in the event that they’re a perfectionist,” she shares. “They’re not loopy for making an attempt their hardest… and if individuals of their life inform them to ‘relax,’ don’t take heed to them.”
“For me, I believe it was a giant launch to get a weight of strain and perfectionism off of my chest.”
It may be concerning the weight of expectation, however “The Hit” is a launch – explosive, exhilarating, and unforgettable. aleksiah doesn’t buckle below strain; moderately, she breaks the cycle and turns her ache into pop gold.
As fantastically daring as it’s brutally trustworthy, “The Hit” captures aleksiah at her most uncooked, self-aware, and sonically daring. It’s a second of readability disguised as a dramatic, dynamic dancefloor anthem – and a putting instance of the depth and nuance she brings to her craft. Atwood Journal spoke with aleksiah about writing via strain, the that means behind her standout track, and the non-public journey that formed Cry About It. Learn our interview beneath, and stream aleksiah’s beautiful new EP wherever you get music!
Oh, it’s the hit that cuts me to my core
When the writing’s on the wall
Possibly this’ll be my downfall
Child, it’s the hit that will get me via the night time
Leaves me thinkin’ that I’m superb
Within the mornin’ I’ll be all yours
Child, it’s ooh, approach you have a look at me
Inform me it’s future, “we may make historical past”
Oh child, it’s the hit that cuts me to the core
Leaves me dyin’ on the ground
Possibly this’ll be my downfall, downfall
Don’t you complainin’
to anyone else, physique else, no
Oh honey, you introduced
this on your self, on your self, oh
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:: stream/buy Cry About It right here ::
:: join with aleksiah right here ::
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Stream: ‘Cry About It’ EP – aleksiah
A CONVERSATION WITH ALEKSIAH
Atwood Journal: aleksiah, what is the story behind your track “The Hit”?
aleksiah: I wrote the track alone in a resort room at night time, I had simply listened to certainly one of my fave songs, “Love Music” by Sara Bareilles and I liked how the track may very well be seen from two factors of view, feeling pressured to make successful track and a relationship, so I wished to strive my hand on the identical factor. The track is about feeling unworthy, and having that exterior/however largely inside strain on you to do properly, to make individuals completely satisfied. However then you could possibly spin the story and browse it like a track a few poisonous relationship, and that “the hit” is the validation you get from being with somebody, and the way its nearly like a drug.
There’s a lot uncooked emotion and unfiltered aching on this track – an ideal complement to the intense, lush instrumentation! What’s this track about, for you personally?
aleksiah: I assume for me it’s about placing a lot strain on myself to do properly, I’ve at all times been an individual that places numerous pleasure and numerous perception within the issues I do, which I swear goes to kill me in the long run lol. It might not sound like a very private track, however the scenario the track speaks about is extremely near my chest.
How does this monitor match into the general narrative of Cry About It?
aleksiah: I really feel just like the EP is cut up into two little ‘mini EPs’ in a approach, and the divide could be very obvious on the vinyl, with Aspect A and Aspect B. Aspect A which has “Batsh*t,” “Preserve My Cool” and “Chilly,” could be very enjoyable, flamboyant, theatrical and a bit loopy. I wished it to be solely about need and anger, as a result of once I was writing these tracks, I used to be in a little bit of an offended a part of my life. The final two songs I wrote for the EP had been Aspect B, “Garments Off” and “The Hit,” that are much more poppy and at this time limit, I’m actually resonating with that sound. So I believe “The Hit” actually suits in with the second half of the EP.
What do you hope listeners take away from “The Hit,” and what have you ever taken away from creating it and now placing it out?
aleksiah: That they’re not alone in the event that they’re a perfectionist, they’re not loopy for making an attempt their hardest, and if individuals of their life inform them to “relax,” don’t take heed to them. For me, I believe it was a giant launch to get a weight of strain and perfectionism off of my chest.
For many who are simply discovering you in the present day via this writeup, what would you like them to learn about you and your music?
aleksiah: I like to put in writing music that takes a broad idea and provides it a distinct segment perspective, I assume it’s at all times actually enjoyable to put in writing like that. Loads of my music tends to have a moderately severe or unhappy subject, however with a extremely contrasted sound within the manufacturing, it’s music for those who take themselves a bit too severely, however want they didn’t (AKA me).
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:: stream/buy Cry About It right here ::
:: join with aleksiah right here ::
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Stream: “The Hit” – aleksiah
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