San James - 'Otherwise'
Photo credit: Camille Dubuc
Montreal singer-songwriter San James reflects on her struggles with anxiety and depression on resilient indie pop single, ‘Otherwise’.
’Otherwise’ presents itself calmly with ambient nuances, before a warm burst of retro indie pop influences sets the tone of the piece, seeing nostalgic guitars threaded through a crisp percussive groove. Soon enough, all sounds are stripped back. A gentle piano melody accompanies the introduction of San James’ striking vocal, providing a vulnerable backdrop to the weary opening lyrics, ‘It’s a long road, it’s a lonely one”.
While there’s struggle and pain in the lyrics, there’s resilience, reassurance and strength as San James highlights our inner demons that feed us negativity and try to drag us down, reiterating the courageous mantra, “show them otherwise”. A luminous track that bubbles and trickles with triumph and beauty.
Words of Karla Harris