“I don’t believe in aging. I believe in forever altering one’s aspect to the sun. ” – Virginia Wolf
How young is too young to know things about life, have experiences, and want to pass that wisdom along? How old do you have to be to have valuable wisdom to share? As a songwriter, I believe that storytelling is a partnership between the artist/writer and the source of inspiration. The more we let that inspiration guide us, let our experiences and emotions dictate the stories we tell, the more we’ll have to share. When I sat down to listen to artist/producer/songwriter Brye’s latest song “Rather Be Alone” I was immediately struck by how well-crafted the lyrics were, and how relatable the song was.
Brye comes from a family that is very rooted in music. Her mother’s side of the family is filled with classically trained musicians, music teachers, and instrumentalists. Brye’s father is a huge fan of pop music and Brye credits her father for bringing Julia Michaels into Brye’s life. Brye found musical theatre at 7 years old thanks to a program her elementary school was hosting and with that foundation of love surrounding music from such a young age coupled with her experiences performing on stage through the musical theatre program, it was only a matter of time before Brye went from admiring and playing other people’s music to writing her own. She started writing songs as early as 12 years old and wrote her latest song at 15.
Fast forward to 2020, and Brye released her previous single “Lemons”. The single went viral and received over 20 million streams on Spotify, resulting in a remix with Cavetown. Now she is gearing up for the release of her latest single “Rather Be Alone” and said this about the inspiration behind the track. “Relationships are not a fix-all, and the issues that you have will not go away with a relationship”. Brye then went on to explain that she believes that in order to be happy in a relationship we first have to face our own demons and figure out who we are as individuals. Pretty stellar advice if you ask me.
“Rather Be Alone”
“I was in my first relationship ever. I had built in my head this very romanticized idealized version of high school relationships and this relationship was not that healthy. I couldn’t really grasp why I was so unhappy because I had a boyfriend, and in my mind, at that age, I was like “I should be really happy right now”…Throughout the song you hear this realization of I’d rather be on my own than be miserable and with someone.” – Brye
I was very impressed by Brye’s work on this track. The vocals are very clear and crisp highlighting the lyrics and story therein. Right off the top, I got Julia Michaels and Olivia Rodrigo vibes with Brye’s vocal performance and inflection, adding to that very smooth modern pop sound in the track. The instrumentation was brilliantly placed, setting the pace and the key of the song with what sounded like a jazz organ and a programmed kick pedal/pulse-like sound. I also really liked how the pace and rhythm were highlighted by clapping in the choruses and that the intensity of the track grew not by adding new instruments but simply by increasing the feeling of forward momentum, especially in the second chorus by adding more beats and claps to the mix. However, the real highlight of the song for me was how prominent, understandable, and clear Brye’s vocals are and the lyrics that her performance highlights.
Brye’s use of rhyming words and syllabic rhythm is very unique and drew me deeper into the track as it was playing. I got a very Ingrid Andress “More Hearts Than Mine” vibe surrounding the lyrical content. I felt like Brye, like Ingrid, took a very relatable and understandable topic and found a way to make this story unique, engaging, and inviting to the listener as a result.
I would highly recommend checking out Brye’s new song “Rather Be Alone” and I can’t wait to hear what she comes up with next.
Find Brye online on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok.
You can stream ‘Rather Be Alone’ on Spotify. Watch the music video below.
