There’s a burning fire in the depths of “Back Home”: An intimate flame lit by a visceral aching. Dark, distorted, and uncompromising, KEZRA’s new single dwells in a space of reckoning as she rises with raw strength and unfiltered passion.
for fans of Maggie Rogers, Holly Humberstone, Angie McMahon
Stream: “Back Home” – KEZRA
“And the fear of getting old, it tore us all apart,” KEZRA sings in her heated, heartfelt new single. “I’d always thought you’d find your way back home…” Nostalgia can be a beautiful thing, but its pain can also lead to our undoing. There’s a burning fire in the depths of “Back Home”: An intimate flame lit by a visceral aching. Dark, distorted, and uncompromising, “Back Home” dwells in a space of reckoning as KEZRA rises with raw, roaring strength and an intense, unfiltered passion.
I was taken back to the house where we met
You tasted like cigarettes, It’s a smell I can’t forget
And the fear of getting old, it tore us all apart
I’d always thought you’d find your way back home
Back home
Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering “Back Home,” KEZRA’s third career single and her first release in nearly four years. The Melbourne-based indie pop artist first introduced herself with the glistening, gently cinematic songs “Better Place” and “Missing You” back in 2018. Her return this year sees a shift in her artistry, with “Back Home” leaning into a brooding, introspective space.
Comparable to the works of artists such as fellow Melbourne singer/songwriter Angie McMahon, London’s Holly Humberstone, Nashville’s Abby Holliday, and Maggie Rogers, KEZRA’s new song is unapologetically emotive: Inner turbulence finds a welcome home here as the artist spills herself in full on this haunting confessional. One can’t help be reminded of Imogen Heap’s singular “Hide and Seek,” another work of art that showcased the radiant power of the human voice, as KEZRA sings out, light effects magnifying the strength, depth, and timbre of her already majestic vocals.
I always felt like we could rule the world
If we gave us a chance if we didn’t overthink it all
Maybe I will be standing right next to you
and dance and dance and dance
Till our feet turn blue
Then you say, It couldn’t get much better honey
But the fear of getting old, it tore us all apart
I’d always thought you’d find your way back home
“I started writing this song on the floor of my living room, strumming along on my guitar, but feeling very uninspired during lockdown,” KEZRA tells Atwood Magazine. “So, I plugged in my vocal harmoniser pedal, in the hope that it would give me some inspiration and help me write in a more creative way. It first began with the slow paused chord changes on the guitar. Then the lyrics – ‘I was taken back to the house where we met’ came to me whilst using my harmoniser and this instantly set the tone for where the rest of the song needed to go.”
“There was something special about the imperfect and mechanical sounding harmonies, that made these lyrics hit deeper,” she continues. “The guitar pauses are almost echoing that feeling of being stuck, reminiscing on the past, replaying old memories in your mind and not being able let go. Towards the end, the strumming is so aggressive with distortion, building up with anger, kind of like a cry for help by the end of the song.”
I’ve got nothing, got nothing I’m back home
Calling out your name, out your name back home
Can you hear me now, hear me now back home
Calling out your name, out your name
Am I even a thought inside your little brain
Are their many girls you’ve told you loved just the same
I don’t even wanna picture it,
then I’ll have to live with all these stupid head games
All my stupid head games
But the fear of getting old, it tore us all apart
I’d always thought you’d find your way back home
Produced by Mark Zito (Fractures) and mastered by Matthew Neighbour (Matt Corby, Middle Kids, The Avalanches),” “Back Home” is utterly spellbinding: A somber, fervent upheaval that washes over the ears, drenching listeners in the artist’s gut-wrenching heartbreak. She rises and falls with gentle grace, her voice a hypnotic, effected texture in and of itself. Underneath the calm we can feel the undeniable friction of distraught and turmoil – especially as she cries her words out in to the dark, “I’ve got nothing… calling out your name, hear me now… am I even a thought inside your brain?“
For KEZRA, “Back Home” is essentially a reintroduction – and one we won’t soon forget. Stunning and stirring, this song hits hard and hits home. Stream this moving track and its equally intimate, minimalist, up-close and personal music video exclusively on Atwood Magazine!
— —
Stream: “Back Home” – KEZRA
— — — —
Connect to KEZRA on
TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
Discover new music on Atwood Magazine
? © Corey Adams
:: Stream KEZRA ::
