On today's episode of TikToker turned credible artist, we have Nessa Barrett, as reviewed by Gemma Cockrell.
I am aware that some terrible music has come from TikTokers, mostly people who shouldn’t be going anywhere near the music industry. And yes, Nessa Barrett may be best-known from TikTok, but her debut album young forever proves that she is much more than ‘just a TikToker’, I promise. So, give me roughly 500 words to prove to you that Barrett is not a TikToker but a musical artist, who is more than worth your time.
The album begins with tired of california, a topic that we’ve heard our fair share of songs about recently - listen to California by Lorde, or the track of the same name by CHVRCHES, and you’ll see that everyone and their mother is tired of California. You’ll definitely be familiar with these themes, so I hear you asking, what makes this song so special? Wait for the second half, when a choir of singing children join in for an eerie, echoing chant of, “can I be young forever?”, on the bridge of the track. This concept is where the album title originates from, derived from Barrett’s favourite film, Death Becomes Her, where Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn drink a potion that makes them… yes, you guessed it, young forever. This idea weaves its way through the rest of the album; on forgive the world, she sings, “let’s pretend we won’t get older, if we never leave this room”, and the lyrics of dear god are an earnest plea to the big man in the sky for a place in heaven, to achieve true eternal life.
Barrett has frequented the headlines as a result of her relationships with fellow TikTokers over the past few years, and tracks like gaslight and unnecessary violence reflect on the toxicity of these, but without fuelling or feeding the rumours. Rather than the gossip or drama, mental health awareness is always at the forefront, whether it’s battling the voices in your head, (talk to myself and f*ckmarrykill), or detailed depictions of her experiences of living with borderline personality disorder and how it can affect your relationships with those closest to you, (lovebomb).
"The lyrics of dear god are an earnest plea to the big man in the sky for a place in heaven, to achieve true eternal life."
With the loss of Barrett’s best friend Cooper Noriega earlier this year, this album is a tribute to her strength in surviving the nightmare that she has experienced, that is no doubt still raw in her memory. Some lyrics seem to manifest real-life situations that happened to Barrett: die first was written before Noriega’s tragic passing, and Barrett recently disclosed that she was admitted to a mental hospital after madhouse was written. An eerie coincidence perhaps, but these songs are given an entirely new meaning in this context, making the album all the more heart-wrenching to listen to.
Her previous EP pretty poison showed plenty of promise but had its flaws, but there is no disputing that here, Barrett’s artistry has come full circle and has flourished into something truly complete. young forever is a massively impressive debut album, regardless of whether it was released by a TikToker, and if you’re a fan of darker strands of pop music, or artists with subdued, raspy vocals like Billie Eilish, then I encourage you to give this album a chance. I highly doubt that you will be disappointed.
Gemma Cockrell
Edited by: Ewan Samms
Cover image and in-article image courtesy of Nessa Barrett via instagram. In article video courtesy of Nessa Barrett via YouTube.
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