Justina Ward – Under My Skin (2022)
Justina Ward has taken us on existential explorations through fusion landscapes with ‘Spare Some Light’ and ‘One Bag’, before hitting us with self-deprecation in ‘Drifter’. Now, she is drawing us into a spiral of brutal emotions and beautiful sounds in ‘Under My Skin’. Through the single, she drops us into the heartbreaking end of a relationship only to catch us in the current of swirling emotions that follows.
The trembling turmoil of emotions is bolstered by rising orchestral tones and the aggressive pounding of drums. With this single, she continues to bring the unique and captivating soundscape to our ears getting us hooked to her sound all over again. To bring this emotive masterpiece to life, she is joined by Jeff Cooper (bass guitar, piano), Ben Crockford (drums), Bex Rennie (cello) and Dani Richardson (violin).
‘Under My Skin’ opens with a delicate piano line that gently takes your hand and leads you into the soundscape. The stripped-back feeling of this opening line makes the pulse of guitar notes more powerful as they burst into the soundscape. When the strings join the piano line, they bring a mournful and bittersweet touch to the soundscape. There is a building feeling of negative emotions through the melody that tugs at your emotions. You can feel the emotions of the moment clog in your throat due to how relatable they are. The melody is undeniably beautiful as it brings the delicate piano to the sad strings and the aggressive beats that punch in your chest.
While the melody instils the first touches of emotion into the soundscape, it is Ward’s vocals that bring the real emotive hit of the track. As her vocals enter, there is a tenderness to the tone that gains an aggressive edge. This aggressive edge is enhanced by the bursts of the guitars and beats. While she punches aggressive empowerment into your chest, the lyrics spin with the spiral of thoughts and emotions that follow a breakup. She touches on the anger of a sudden breakup before beautifully flowing into the sadness of loss and the knowledge that you still care for someone who doesn’t return the emotion. The emotions she evokes through her performance are rather brutal in their honesty and authenticity.
Justina Ward brings a beautiful yet brutal spiral of heartbreak, anger and unrequited love in the moving tones of ‘Under My Skin’. The melody draws you in with delicate tones before punching aggression into your chest only to sink into sadness. Ward’s vocals are powerful as they spin from one emotion to another bringing the turbulent feelings of the moment to life perfectly.
Find out more about Justina Ward on her Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.
