A soul’s intimate reckoning with love, solitude, and the self, Maria Neckam’s “She’s Sensitive” plunges into our naked, authentic beings with dazzling sonic immediacy and directness.
Stream: “She’s Sensitive” – Maria Neckam
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/309260398?secret_token=s-hnKxy” params=”color=%23dcdcdc&auto_play=true&visual=true&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]She loves the thought of who he would become if only he would see the strength he has, but you can never change another…
A bittersweet, humbling darkness laps up against the light of Maria Neckam’s powerfully poignant new song. A soul’s intimate reckoning with love, solitude, and the self, “She’s Sensitive” plunges into our naked, authentic beings with dazzling sonic immediacy and directness.
She’s sensitive
And quietly, she dabbles in philosophy
She finds her answers
Only to forget what she has come to see
She’d never want to hurt a soul
And even when she does, she hopes
That things will be, eventually, restored
She cares for harmony
Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering “She’s Sensitive,” taken from Maria Neckam’s forthcoming fourth full-length album The Leap (independently out September 27, 2019). Following singles “Familiar,” “Happier,” and “Hidden,” “She’s Sensitive” presents Maria Neckam’s personal unveiling in the form of a raw, effervescent soliloquy: A series of synth chords lay a somber foundation upon which Neckam pours her heart out onto a stone-cold floor. Warm brass add stirring textures and flavors to an otherwise straightforward ballad defined by a series of soulful and revealing verses.
Line after line, Neckam tells a painful story of loss, longing, remorse, hope, and pain. “I started writing “She’s Sensitive” in the middle of a writer’s block,” she tells Atwood Magazine. “As some way to get myself going, I based this song on the character of a book I was reading at the time. Little did I know that soon after, I’d have plenty of material to write about. After the first verse was done, my partner returned home from his tour (a musician himself) and acted awfully strange. This had been an issue for a while, but it seemed like it had gotten worse. Well, after a few days of whirlwind and confusion – during which the second verse was born, – I found out that he had a serious opioid addiction.”
She continues, “At the time I hadn’t been as aware of this issue that is now an epidemic in this country. It was a shock and felt like a betrayal we couldn’t recover from – the secrets and the lies, most of all. So my whole world as I knew it was gone, in a matter of seconds. The third verse was written at a grand piano in Denmark, late at night, alone in a concert hall, where I would perform the next day. I had managed to rip off the Band-Aid and move on, and realized that this was the beginning of something good, a new life. A life that I would base on my conscious choices, and never on fear. It ends on a hopeful note, and I’m happy to say he’s clean now, and we’re good friends. Sometimes life forces you, painfully, to move from comfort into authenticity.”
Sometimes life forces you, painfully, to move from comfort into authenticity.
She loves the rain, that sound of little drops of ocean
Almost reaching her where she’s safe
Behind a window, looking out and dreaming
She’s sensitive
And secretly she hopes there is a chance
That he would come to read her quietly
Those words, they don’t come easily
The fireworks of talk explode
In empty space that could have made
A perfect scene for love
But now is proof of what was lost to fear
“She’s Sensitive” follows a slew of pre-release album singles that, one by one, show the Austria-born, Brooklyn-based artist to be a unique, progressive voice in the pop world. In premiering Neckam’s music video for the single “Familiar,” Atwood Magazine‘s Caitlin Ison described the artist as having a ” timeless yet pop driven sound” while recognizing her music’s theme of change and growth. As its name suggests, The Leap offers a deep dive into the new, the unexplored, and the unknown: It represents Neckam stepping out of her comfort zone in life, in love, in music, and in herself – and no better can that be seen up-close and personal than on “She’s Sensitive,” which exudes the triumph of a painfully journey deep into the depths of oneself.
“She’s Sensitive” is a beautiful heart-on-sleeve confession set to a rich, welcoming soundtrack.
She loves the thought of who he would become
if only he would see the strength he has
But you can never change another
She’s sensitive
And quietly, she understands it’s time to see
The path that leads to where she’ll be herself
In all that she can be
While it is not the “hit” of Neckam’s album, this song most certainly finds her dwelling in the deep end of musical meaning. This is the kind of song one listens to, in order to learn something about themselves; it’s a spiritually transforming experience for those who want it, and a moving upheaval all the same. Stream “She’s Sensitive” exclusively on Atwood Magazine, and be sure to listen to Maria Neckam’s new album The Leap in full upon its release on September 27!
No questions asked, the time has come
To face the truth with guts
And leave this story with an open heart
Proudly we move on
Head up high
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:: stream/purchase The Leap here ::
Stream: “She’s Sensitive” – Maria Neckam
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