Music Review // Maria Ellis "Relapse"

 

This song begins innocently enough with big beats and a feeling that can really draw you in.  Some piano sounds come out and then when the chorus hits, it hits hard.  It makes me think of hip hop, though I'm sure there's a certain genre of pop that this falls under.   Just the way that the chorus comes out with the repeated "Take take take take" and then "Waste waste waste waste" makes me feel like something I'd hear in "K-Pop Demon Hunters", but I don't think this could be considered K-pop.

As this song is named "Relapse" I can tell you that's generally a word associated with addiction to drugs and/or alcohol.  In this song, the story is about another person- someone who is bad for you but you cannot seem to keep yourself away from.  This comes out in the lyrics: "Feening since you've been gone / Somebody save me from what I want".   This also is further cemented with the lyrics: "First took you blindly / Now I know the cost".

Though this can certainly be thought of in the ways of love, I also like to think of this as being in the sense of a substance addiction.  Though this is a woman singing about a man, as I can get the sense from the music video, it can also work if you just think of the substance you abuse as having that human face to it.  In this case, lyrics like "Gotta be a better way" and "Feening since you've been gone" can feel like you're a user and just in between getting your fix.  Which does apply to this song but in the ways of love, though you can also relate it with any addiction really.

I really enjoy the unique sound of this song by Maria Ellis and there is a lot of truth within these lyrics.  One that I think everyone should take away from this to help them on their journey says: "Even though I want you / I want my sanity".  Whether it is a person, a substance or just anything you feel like could be controlling your life, you're always going to feel like you want that control back until you quit.  It's okay to relapse, but eventually, addiction is something you're able to overcome and this song can help you with that.