Ettie – Miserable Life (2023)
It’s odd how certain songs stick in your head and you’re not entirely sure why or how. It’s odd how certain songs seem to capture particular emotions or situations then pop up as you think “that’s this issue’s theme song”; for me, it’s Ettie. I can’t remember my telephone number and frequently forget the date, but Ettie’s ‘Hello, I’ve Got Anxiety’ is as clear in my mind as anything from the Backstreet Boys (I was a tad obsessed in my youth). From RGM to Illustrate Magazine, Less Than 1000 Followers, Plastic Magazine, Existential Magazine and Sinusoidal Music, UK-based Ettie is tearing up the pop-punk music scene on an international scale.
In her own words, Ettie is “here, queer, and full of existential fear” touching on issues of mental health, self-discovery, angsty emotions and finding oneself in a world of labels. Following her single ‘Until I Met U’, ‘Miserable Life’ is Ettie’s cathartic return to songwriting after a brief musical hiatus. In an interview with RGM, she shared: “I took a six-month break from writing music. I was in a really bad place, and I needed to take care of myself. So getting back into writing was definitely about accepting myself again and that was really hard.”
Stepping back up the plate, ‘Miserable Life’ retains Ettie’s old-school pop-punk style reminiscent of Paramore and Avril Lavigne. The pounding drums match bold guitars in a hard-hitting arrangement where each instrument falls upon you with individual force; however, it all comes together in a harmonic whole. Yet, while the fiery ferocity of the instruments rattles about your brain, it is Ettie’s seemingly softer vocals that up the ante.
In previous material, such as ‘Starting Again’ and ‘I’m Sorry To All My Exes’, Ettie tapped into her inner Hayley Williams. Returning with ‘Miserable Life’, she steps alongside Williams instead of sitting in her shadow. A slight gruffness slithers through her mellifluous voice presenting a soothing tone but also a ruggedness in the raw aggression.
Along with her pop-punk-flavoured music, Ettie’s lyricism is part of her signature style. While ‘Until I Met U’ explored the anxiety of sexual self-discovery with the joy of finding someone to love, ‘Miserable Life’ is pure rage. Cloaked in a glistening wrapper of intricate lyricism, the single is a cathartic necessity for all the oppressed, bullied and judged people out there. Ettie shared in the same RGM interview: “’Miserable Life’…is about someone who tried to make my life hell…I just want them to feel as bad as they made me feel for 2 minutes and 38 seconds.”
For more from Ettie, check out her Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
