Singer/songwriter Jess Nolan embraces a message of empowerment, healing, and self-preservation on her soul-stirring new song “Emergency Landing,” a dreamy and smoldering serenade dealing with life’s daily pressures and the importance of taking time for ourselves.
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Stream: “Emergency Landing” – Jess Nolan
My hope is that we can all give ourselves a high level of compassion for our own needs so that we can better serve others. Take a breath!
We can’t be “on” all of the time.
Humans come with rechargeable batteries, not one-time uses. The hustle and bustle of modern living would have us think otherwise, but it’s more than okay to power down: It’s necessary – both for our wellness, and for our survival. Despite the constant pull to be active and engaged 24/7, we owe it to ourselves to pause every once in a while; to step back; to rest; and to relax – or as Jess Nolan would say, to make an emergency landing. The singer/songwriter embraces a message of empowerment, healing, and self-preservation on her soul-stirring new song “Emergency Landing,” a dreamy and smoldering serenade dealing with life’s daily pressures and the importance of taking time for ourselves.
Through poetic verses and radiant, seductive sonics that soothe the ears and warm our weary bones, Nolan reminds us to breathe and to be.
don’t talk to me now
I’ve got nothing to say
what are we talking about anyway?
it isn’t personal
or maybe it is
I’ve been choosing myself
and it that makes me selfish
it is what it is
and it’s highly likely I’ll be feeling the pressure
call an emergency landing
if I help myself, I’m helping you
it you take a breath, I’ll take one too
The choice is surprisingly simple: You can either fly high and burn out like Apollo, or you can touch down every now and then. Released June 28 via Ani DiFranco’s Righteous Babe Records, “Emergency Landing” is a call for inner balance and peace; for the destigmatization of alone time; and for prioritizing rest.
The lead single off Jess Nolan’s forthcoming sophomore album ’93 (out September 8) finds the Nashville-based singer/songwriter returning to the forefront after two and a half years, having followed her own advice and taken some well-deserved R&R after 2020’s debut album From Blue to Gold. In “Emergency Landing,” Nolan shines bright, creating a dreamy world of wonder through a jazzy chord progression, lilting guitars, moody piano, and hypnotic percussion. Out of this intoxicating scene her voice beams, a tender beacon of raw, heated emotion telling us it’s okay to put ourselves first.
I’m taking my time
I’m leaving it be
I been looking
but I just can’t find an apology
yeah it’s habitual
we put on a face
and then fake conversation
when I could’ve stayed in
I should’ve stayed in
“I wrote this song with my friends, Hadley Kennary and Jake Finch, on a day when we were lamenting about the societal pressure to be “on” all the time,” Nolan tells Atwood Magazine. “We live in a world that glamorizes the grind and doesn’t prioritize rest. It’s up to us as individuals to draw our own boundaries around what we need to recharge.”
“Taking days off and spending time alone helps me show up more fully for the people around me. Instead of viewing it as selfish, I now see it as a sacred step in community care. My hope is that we can all give ourselves a high level of compassion for our own needs so that we can better serve others. Take a breath! We don’t need permission to care for ourselves.”
Nolan reaches an impassioned climax in her chorus, rising to a gentle fever pitch as guitars sizzle and smolder around her with dazzling warmth. But the real strength comes from her voice and her words; she sings boldly, emotionally charged and full of conviction:
And my sacred space should never be feeling the pressure
call an emergency landing
if I help myself, I’m helping you
it you take a breath, I’ll take one too
take one too
It’s up to us as individuals to draw our own boundaries around what we need to recharge. We don’t need permission to care for ourselves!
“Emergency Landing” proves a stunning return for Jess Nolan, setting the scene for an invigorating album borne of reflection and reckoning, spirited sonics and spiritual healing.
She describes the forthcoming ’93 as a meditation “centered on mindfulness, grounding yourself, and breathing,” and indeed the album’s recently-released second single “Windowpanes,” full of rich harmonies, glistening melodies, and sweet golden hues, proves an cathartic enchantment.
’93 is out September 8 via Righteous Babe Records; for now, get lost in the
time is flying at the speed of life
there’s a voice to find in open sky
and it sounds like mine
and the more I listen, less I’m feeling the pressure
call an emergency landing
if I help myself, I’m helping you
if you take a breath, I’ll take one too
take one too, take one too
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© Taylor Ann Bogner
© Taylor Ann Bogner
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