Luxtides’ new single “After” portrays human emotion and human experience with compassion, relating to listeners and reminding them that it’s okay not to be okay.
Stream: “After” – Luxtides
2020 has been a difficult year for us all. We are all experiencing a collective trauma that will likely take a long time to fully process. Life as we know it has been completely upended, with anxiety and uncertainty flowing ostensibly without breaks.
Through all of this uncertainty, however, musicians the world over have begun creating beautiful art. NYC-based artist Luxtides is no exception. Her latest single, “After,” out today via OneRPM, grapples with anxiety and navigating how to process mental health amidst a pandemic. “After” serves as Luxtides’ rawest output yet, as she leaves all of her fears and emotions out in the open.
“After” opens with a relatable visual for so many who have experienced panic attacks:
Count the cracks in the ceiling
Can’t seem to get off my bedroom floor
Wishing we were just dreaming
Whole world’s burning outside my door
Think I’ve run out of feelings
So obsessed but I can’t ignore
And I can’t hold my breath anymore
The song denotes trying to cope with the crushing weight of anxiety, feeling nothingness while life continues on. Especially in a pandemic, it often feels difficult to come to terms with these feelings, and dealing with one’s own emotions while people are dying may seem misplaced. Nonetheless, Luxtides tries to give these feelings a fair shot, and ostensibly calls for help in the song’s chorus:
Standing still while we’re spinning out
Where do we go when we’re going down
Will you still be here
In the after
Lost my way out of paradise
Don’t know what waits on the other side
Will you still be here
In the after
After everything calms down, what remains? Uncertainty and anxiety often go hand-in-hand, and navigating these emotions while coping with a spiral can feel overwhelming. Knowing that there is someone to help pull you out of this spiral helps alleviate the worry, and holding on to the ones who help keep us sane is paramount.
“After” delineates the fear of falling, trying to grasp why these sentiments are persisting. Luxtides beautifully narrates these experiences; the trepidation, the numbness, the obsessive tendencies. “After” aims to hang on to whatever tangible things it can as the unknown takes hold.
Count the days as they’re passing
Count cause it’s all that I can control
Nervous wreck, always crashing
Scared to death of what lives unknown
Think I’ve run out of feelings
So obsessed but I can’t ignore
And I can’t count on me anymore
“After” portrays human emotion and human experience with compassion, relating to listeners and reminding them that it’s okay not to be okay. Through her sirenic vocals and the lush instrumentation, Luxtides masterfully narrates what it feels like when life is spiraling, and she does so with pure genuineness. There is nothing wrong or abnormal about anxiety, and one can always find ways to deal with and overcome it.
Luxtides and “After” characterize emotions that so many can attach to, illustrating an empathy for this innately human experience. Especially amidst a global pandemic, it feels particularly reassuring to know and recognize that we are never truly alone in our feelings. Though it may seem difficult, there are always opportunities to reach out. Your feelings always matter; your thoughts always matter; you always matter.
Stream: “After” – Luxtides
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? © Erica Rallo 2020
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