Small Shake’s dreamy new song “Toxic” aches with tender indie rock warmth as the artist captures the raw weight and sheer strength of an intimate, lifelong connection no boy (or man-child) can ever get between.
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Stream: “Toxic” – Small Shake
Frustration and love are funny bedmates, but they often go hand in hand – especially when those closest to us are involved.
How many siblings know just the right buttons to push to incite a reaction? Who among us can say a parent has never gotten on their nerves For LA’s Small Shake, a friend’s (failed) romantic exploits ultimately became too much to bear – but as she worked through her feelings, whatever anger she felt ultimately subsided into a softer, gentler sense of empathy and understanding. A fever dream turned love song, Small Shake’s sweetly soothing “Toxic” aches with tender indie rock warmth as the artist captures the raw weight and sheer strength of an intimate, lifelong connection no boy (or man-child) can ever get between.
It doesn’t have to be that bad
You can make him go away
I know all the stories about your dad and
He doesn’t need a say
I think about you at the counter top
Sipping pink out of a plastic cup
If he doesn’t bother to ask
Than why would you give it up
Independently released July 30, 2024, “Toxic” is a sweetly seductive musical antidote to the summertime blues. Small Shake’s first song of the year is ostensibly a reintroduction to Aarin Wallace’s artist project; after debuting in June 2023 with the now-unavailable single “Imposter,” the Seattle-born singer/songwriter moved first to Portland, Oregon – where she formed a band and recorded some new songs – and more recently to Los Angeles, where she now resides.
“Toxic” is muted and moody – its emotional churn coming out in lush choruses filled with rousing, overdriven electric guitar riffs and layered vocals, all of which accentuate the artist’s inner tension as it pours out of her in droves, turning into endearing, smile-inducing love before it hits our ears:
You don’t need to feel alone
I would die to walk you home
I will love you until I let it go
I will love you until I stop
Wallace herself calls it a contemplative, if not exasperated indie rock song. “I find that songs about platonic relationships come more naturally to me,” she tells Atwood Magazine. “I feel emotions just as powerfully over the course of a friendship as I do with a partner, and am drawn to telling those stories. On this particular occasion, I was aghast watching a friend chase terrible men over and over. Here was this incredible person, desperate for the attention of folks I found unworthy. I wrote ‘Toxic’ in an angry fever dream. Only when it was on paper did I fully understand the nature of my feelings, as I surprised myself with a finished love song.”
So maybe we could go to the party
And maybe you could explain again
How everyone you fall for is toxic
And life is only fun in the arms of your friends
It doesn’t have to be so bleak
At your best when they like you least
Spilling secrets between every heave
It don’t take the stars to see
That you don’t need to feel alone
I would die to walk you home
I will love you until I let it go
I will love you until I stop
Small Shake builds a wondrous, immersive, and enticing world out of her intimate, innermost emotions.
She gets no joy out of seeing her friend fall (in love) and get hurt time and again; none of us do, and sometimes, our anger or frustration gets the better of us. But those feelings don’t win out on this song; tongue-in-cheek though many of Small Shake’s lyrics may be, the ultimate message of “Toxic” is one of sisterhood, support, and the unbreakable bond between good friends. “You don’t need to feel alone; I would die to walk you home,” she sings, promising to be there through thick and thin. “I will love you until I let it go. I will love you until I stop.” And yet, one gets the sense that she never will stop loving; that’s not an option in this scenario.
Co-produced with Carlo Barbacci of Miami band MOLD! and recorded with guitarist Sapphire Jewell (Illuminati Hotties, Cuffed Up), bassist Brandi Diaz, and drummer Caitlyn Pozerski, “Toxic” is an intoxicating, enchanting best-foot-forward from Small Shake, and hopefully just the start of much more to come in the second half of the year!
So maybe we could go to the party
And maybe you could explain again
How everyone you fall for is toxic
And life is only fun in the arms of your friends
You know I think it could be better this way
Versus checking out for terrible taste
Take the plunge, and honey
Ride, ride, ride
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Stream: “Toxic” – Small Shake
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© Marcus Shriver
© Marcus Shriver
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