Taken off her new EP ‘2007,’ Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter Miya Folick’s “Bad Thing” paints a slightly desolate portrait of young adulthood through the lens of the all-too-familiar post-weekend hangover.
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Stream: “Bad Thing” – Miya Folick
Get caught in empty conversation, fake friends and chemical temptations…
The latest single from the artist’s newly released EP 2007 (September 9, 2022 via Nettwerk Music Group), Miya Folick’s “Bad Thing” paints a slightly desolate portrait of young adulthood through the lens of the all-too-familiar post-weekend hangover. This generational timbre of self-deprecation, however, is sufficiently brightened with high synths, cyclical lyrics, and enchanting melodies, pulling us to celebrate these periods as temporary but essential coming-of-age moments.
Wake up hand upon my forehead
Can’t believe this is the way I live
Even now. Still somehow
Told my mom it was the last time
Told myself maybe it’s ok
One more time. One more time
Folick approaches the opening lyrics as musings from a morning drawl, heavily contrasting the synths and full-bodied delays in the instrumentals that are often associated with a 2AM after-party anthem.
“The day I wrote this song, I woke up with a first-class, absolutely soul crushing hangover, after having slept for a couple fretful hours,” Folick says. “I wasn’t the kind of person who could hide a hangover, so I told Mitski and Andrew what was going on. We wrote this song. It’s about being stuck in a cycle of behavior that you can’t get out of, but it’s not bleak. There’s hope in the song. I always knew that I would get out of that cycle eventually.”
I don’t wanna call first thing in the morning
Desperate for help to feel normal
Over and over and over again
I keep doing bad bad bad bad bad
I did a bad thing
I wasn’t thinking
I did a bad thing
Similar in tone to the her other singles from the EP, including “Oh God,” “Nothing to See,” and “Ordinary,” Folick expresses a clear dissatisfaction in her judgment and decisions surrounding adulthood, criticizing her former and future self about the actions in which she’d grown accustomed to in her youthful independence. Both a cry for help and a shift in perspective, Folick seems to stabilize herself in the aftermath and re-establishes control of her ever-expanding identity.
Furthermore, she refuses to drown her perspective in past mistakes. The lyrics almost feel like a pat on the back rather than a focused critique. There’s an insinuation that this existential worry will continue— or, at least, will adjust gradually— and rather than dwelling on the moment, Folick looks to the future.
Get caught in empty conversation
Fake friends and chemical temptations
Turn it down
Turn them down
This time I will take it slowly
Say no to everything I don’t need
Turn it down
Turn it down
I don’t wanna call first thing in the morning
Desperate for help to feel normal
Over and over and over again
I keep doing bad bad bad bad bad
I did a bad thing
I wasn’t thinking
I did a bad thing
2007 marks the artist’s first release in three years. A celebrated songwriter, Miya Folick often gives insight to her creative process and artistic intentions.
“Songs carry us in so many ways. As songwriters, they teach us how to sit inside our bodies and listen to our instincts. They show us how we feel. Sometimes, they help other people to understand how they feel! They allow us to reach across a room of strangers and find intimacy and understanding,” Folick shares on her Instagram. “For me, the act of songwriting is an exploration. I am in search of something. But, it’s not always easy. I’ve found that my main obstacles to songwriting are fear, distraction, and a crippling sense of meaninglessness!!”
These obstacles, in particular, are challenged thoughtfully in this single, as her existential musings are washed away with promises of careful consideration and decision-making in the second verses. She vows here to turn a new leaf, and whether or not she returns to the morning that brought her to this epiphany, Miya Folick proves we all have the power to pull ourselves up.
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Stream: ‘2007’ – Miya Folick
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