Emma Russack’s "If You Could See Me Now" is both contemplative and resilient

The new album as a whole has been noted already for its strength and self-reliance, and both of these notions are reflected in "If You Could See Me Now". Against a minimal backdrop of guitar and drums, Emma goes from menial observations (‘’I get up at six/I don’t need coffee’’) to things rather more personal (‘’I don’t have sex for validation/I’ve had no sex in six months’’), though throughout it's indeed true that Emma intends on reflecting an overriding sense of independence.

As with almost any individual, however, such reflections are balanced out by a pervading sense of anxiety. The fact that Emma has to continually validate her observations with the line ‘’if you could see me now’’ is indicative of her need for some sort of external notice and acceptance of her claims. Who this individual or collective may be is never revealed (it could even be a statement posed to herself), though it's clearly of great importance to Emma, and plays an important role in the track.

Such a need for validation is not a sign of weakness though, and Emma’s great strength in "If You Could See Me Now" is her general acceptance of it. Rather, it's a sign of what it is to be human, and it's this real-life aspect that makes Emma’s latest release such a beautiful and welcoming listen.

In A New State is out now via Spunk!