Francis of Delirium’s Jana Bahrich reflects on the importance of community and showing up for your people in her emotionally charged anthem “Give It Back to Me,” a cathartic eruption of unconditional love and the latest single off her highly anticipated debut album, ‘Lighthouse’!
for fans of Squirrel Flower, Angie McMahon, Holly Humberstone
Stream: “Give It Back to Me” – Francis of Delirium
When your chips are down you can ask for help and when your chips are up, you can be that pillar of strength for someone else.
Francis of Delirium’s Jana Bahrich is doubling down on her community.
The indie rock artist’s latest single is an impassioned, emotionally charged anthem of unconditional love and support; of showing up for the ones who need us, and being there when it matters the most.
When your darkness has a sound
When it fills your ears, and now
All you hear, it brings you down
Just give it back to me
When you’re going for a cure
When you’re never really sure
When I really want to just be yours,
Oh, give it back to me
“Give it back to me,” she sings softly, lending a shoulder to lean on. “Give it back to me,” she beckons, offering an outstretched hand to hold. “Give it back to me,” she roars, shining a warm light in the all-consuming darkness.
“Give it back to me,” she cries, her heart and soul exposed.
When the pain is so intense
And all the lights keep turning red
When the breath you wish you had goes
Give it back to me.
Released February 15 via Dalliance Records, “Give It Back to Me” is an achingly beautiful eruption from a tender, visceral, and vulnerable core. The fourth single off Francis of Delirium’s fast-approaching debut album Lighthouse (out March 22) finds the Luxembourg-based singer/songwriter embracing one of the most important aspects of our lives – human connection.
“To me this song is all about supporting your community, having people that you can lean on and vice versa,” 22-year-old Jana Bahrich tells Atwood Magazine. “This is supposed to just set up the idea that when you’re just feeling down and out, you have community and people to lean on, you can share some of that weight with me or someone else and we’ll help to pull you up.”
All the ways we couldn’t change
All the love that couldn’t stay
Wished the world would go away
Just give it back to me
I was bleeding in my heart
I was blown mad filled apart
You came back and helped restart it
You brought it back to me
At once epic and intimate, “Give It Back to Me” is a mantra; a promise; an anthem; and a lullaby.
Bahrich rises from a gentle entrance to an explosive, emotive crescendo as the song progresses, her music mimicking the journey from darkness into light as, slowly, steadily, she erupts with dramatic strength and dynamic, unabating passion. Sweeping guitar riffs and heavy, crashing drum beats recall Parachutes– and A Rush of Blood to the Head–era Coldplay as the multi-instrumentalist delivers a cathartic, breathtakingly beautiful performance – her delicate, weighted words sending shivers down the spine.
When the darkness takes you whole
When the life you thought you’d known
Escapes and grabs you, won’t let go
Just give it back, give it back,
Give it back to me
Actively releasing music under the Francis of Delirium moniker since 2020, Jana Bahrich is no stranger to full-bodied musical surrenders; her first three EPs – All Change, Wading, and The Funhouse – earned well-deserved critical acclaim, thanks in large part to Bahrich’s unapologetic and uncompromising delivery. Earlier this year, Atwood Magazine named her as one of our 2024 Artists to Watch, and for good reason: Whether conveying angst, longing, compassion, sometimes all three of those at once, or anything else, Francis of Delirium gives her music her all. Humanity comes flooding out through irresistible, grungy alt-rock music that hits hard and leaves a lasting mark every time you listen.
“Give It Back to Me” follows Lighthouse’s previous singles “Blue Tuesday,” “First Touch,” and “Real Love,” and holds a special place as the album’s cinematic finale. It’s a fitting, resounding closing number that sees Bahrich leaning into the light – reminding herself of what (or who) matters most to her, and recommitting herself to her community and loved ones. The song itself acts as a beacon for artist and audience alike, facilitating a heavy and heartfelt release for all as Bahrich erupts in waves of hot, spirited sound.
When the future’s never sure
When the light is never yours
When the darkness takes you whole,
just give it back to me
All the signs that bring you down
All the love that isn’t found
And all the waves we can’t be grounded,
Give them all to me
“‘Give It Back to Me’ was a touchstone for me throughout the album’s writing process, Bahrich explains. “The song’s hopefulness and themes of friendship felt pivotal to the album, and after it was written it felt like all the other songs started to make more sense in relation to each other.”
“I hope the song encourages people to let each other in and to be kind and supportive of each other,” she adds. “Sometimes we’ll play this song or I’ll listen back to it and I’m reminded that, ‘oh yeah I should go call that person and check in with them’ – just to be an active friend and present in peoples’ lives that mean a lot to me.”
“Give it back to me.” It’s Francis of Delirium’s empathetic mantra, and now it can be ours as well. Go check in with a loved one, and when you’re done, read our interview with Jana Bahrich as she dive into her stunning new single, her other recent releases, and what it means to show up for someone you care about.
Lighthouse is out March 22, and promises to be one of the year’s most powerful, passionate, and memorable debuts.
Hold the silence, take that breath
Hold the moment, take the rest
When your eyes are glowing red,
Just give it back to me
When you’re feeling like a clown
And when the ice freezes, holds you down
When the world, it just goes round,
Then give it back, give it back,
Give it back to me
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:: stream/purchase Lighthouse here ::
:: connect with Francis of Delirium here ::
Stream: “Give It Back to Me” – Francis of Delirium
A CONVERSATION WITH FRANCIS OF DELIRIUM
Atwood Magazine: Jana, before anything, I do want to wish you a happy new year! Not sure if you subscribe to them, but do you have any new year’s resolutions or hopes for 2024?
Francis of Delirium: Happy New Year to you ! I don’t particularly do them, I like to have a mid year resolution, or a resolution whenever it comes to mind and they are always sort of the same. I alwyas want to spend more time outside, more time reading. I did do dry January but I guess that’s less of a year long resolution, more of a month type situation. I’m trying to get sick less, I feel like I’ve been getting sick all the time, so my new years resolution is no more colds.
All the songs you’ve put out so far have been absolutely breathtaking, and “Give It Back to Me” is especially enchanting. What’s the story behind this song?
Francis of Delirium: This song came together quite quickly and I was immediately connecting to it. It was one of those days when you’re writing and writing and nothing is working and you’re just about to pack it up and then it all starts coming together. It felt really good to have a song that has that has a long slow build to it, that let’s my vocals explode at the end.
“When your darkness has a sound, when it fills your ears and now all you hear, it brings you down, just give it back to me,” you sing at the start. Can you share more about these lyrics and this entrance? It's absolutely chilling – I found myself instantly moved by your words.
Francis of Delirium: To me this song is all about supporting your community, having people that you can lean on and vice versa. This is supposed to just set up the idea that when you’re just feeling down and out, you have community and people to lean on, you can share some of that weight with me or someone else and we’ll help to pull you up.
Congrats on Lighthouse’s upcoming release! It's been a long time getting here, with PLENTY of (what I would call phenomenal) EPs along the way. How does it feel to have finally made and now be releasing your debut album?
Francis of Delirium: Thanks! It really has been quite a long journey to get here. I think everytime we started working on those EPs barring the first ‘All Change’ I thought they would turn into an album but I never could quite get them there, so it’s really lovely to have this album that’s really centered around love be our first big statement out there.
Has anything felt different for you about these releases, compared to your EPs?
Francis of Delirium: I think it’s actually been less stressful. Since you have to have everything sort of ready in advance for vinyl etc. I’ve been able to take more time to make videos and artwork and stuff along those lines. Normally with the EPs we’d be mastering right up until uploading them and I’d be scrambling to get the visual together, so this has all been a bit more chill, I had all the single artwork and main artwork done months ago, so now I can focus on the live side of things and just releasing the music.
“Give It Back to Me” follows “Blue Tuesday,” “First Touch,” and “Real Love” as the first looks off your LP. What inspired you to choose these songs in particular?
Francis of Delirium: It felt like these songs were strong enough to stand alone without the context of the whole album and also served as good indicators of the different kinds of sounds we were going for. There’s a quite a bit of variety in these singles in terms of which genre they lean towards and I think we felt they would serve as a good way to prep listeners for what the palette and themes will be for the album.
I still come back to “Real Love” as one of my favorite Francis of Delirium songs. “Real love isn’t real love when it’s not us,” you sing, searing the words into the air with repetitions. What inspired you to make this the first single off your debut album?
Francis of Delirium: I think ‘Real Love’ felt like quite a departure for us but also sets up the themes and tone of the album pretty well, so it felt a bit more like a statement than maybe releasing ‘Blue Tuesday’ would have been. ‘Real Love’ signaled that we were going in a bit of a different direction for this album.
And then there’s “Blue Tuesday.” “And it starts in a back of a cab, face to face and your hand in my hand,” you sing at the visceral start of this song. “Nothing left we're just blurring lines; no sign of life.” What inspired you to open this way, and can you share a bit about this scene we're opening onto?
Francis of Delirium: The song is about desire and I wanted to capture the momentum of that feeling, the rush and excitement. I tried to lean into that by making sure each scene is moving, you’re in a cab and shapes are blurring, it feels like you’re the only two people in the world. That was the feeling I wanted to reproduce.
I love how much aching and longing you’ve packed into these songs – all that unresolved tension and raw emotion. Can you talk about what it was like to make this album, and what your guiding lights were when it came to writing these songs?
Francis of Delirium: The process of writing this album really started around the summer of 2022. The last release we had under our belt was ‘The Funhouse’ EP, which was really dark and heavy and after going on tour I came back home and it felt like my world was opening up. We’d just been on this big US tour and I fell in love and it felt like there was a lot of good pouring into my life, so these songs were a reflection of that. Of the light and vulnerability I was experiencing in my personal life.
What do you hope listeners take away from “Give It Back To Me,” and what have you taken away from the song?
Francis of Delirium: I hope the song encourages people to let each other in and to be kind and supportive of each other. Sometimes we’ll play this song or I’ll listen back to it and I’m reminded that ‘oh yeah I should go call that person and check in with them’ just to be an active friend and present in people’s lives that mean a lot to me.
Just as we finish up, what are a few fun facts that listeners might not know, or would be surprised to learn about you?
Francis of Delirium: Maybe people would be surprised to know I am one belt away from a black belt in taekwondo, I was right on track to get my blackbelt but I moved from Canada to Luxembourg and I was too nervous to go and do taekwondo in Luxembourgish. At some point I will have to pursue getting my blackbelt again though.
Who are you listening to these days, that you would recommend to our readers?
Francis of Delirium: I am listening to Friko, they are a band from Chicago that are really cool and I’ve been listening to a lot of Helena Deland.
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:: stream/purchase Lighthouse here ::
:: connect with Francis of Delirium here ::
Stream: “Give It Back to Me” – Francis of Delirium
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