“We could be something holy, you keep me at a distance, hold me down in chains and I like it I can’t lie…” sings Tess Becket evocatively to open her debut release, Toxic.
The opus expands into a dimensional indie-rock ballad full of metaphors and laced with poetic prowess. The rising artist delivers a charismatic performance that fans of Billie Eilish would be able to connect with, although it is clear that Tess Becket, who is inspired by artists including King Princess and Julien Baker, is creating a universe of her own.
We learn that Toxic is written about “a loved one going through a psychotic break”, designed as a “simmering reflection on returning to a dark, problematic relationship.”
Speaking on the release, the emerging artist from Stewartstown confesses, “I wrote Toxic about trying to help a close loved one in a mental health crisis. It was a really bad situation where I kept getting pulled into the chaos. The song is a reflection on why I kept going back to help, again and again. I figured, in some way, I must like the toxicity.”
We appreciate the self-realized nature of Tess’s lyricism, and the cohesive tapestry of sound that accompanies the artist. Born and raised in a rural town near Baltimore, the twenty-one year old artist has already written over one hundred songs and learnt audio engineering and production in a rap and hip-hop recording studio.
Her upcoming releases are set to examine “sapphic love, loss and familial toxicity”, in the meantime, we continue to stream Toxic, and have added the composition to our New Music Spotlight playlist!