Girlhouse - 'Worth It'
Girlhouse reminds us that we are all deserving of love with her latest release, ‘Worth It’.
With her fresh and euphoric sound, Girlhouse is well and truly on the up and her latest single ‘Worth It’ is not just a demonstration of her talent but also is a letter to everyone saying that she is here and is here to stay. It's an explosive and exciting return for the artist following on from opening for Halsey and her release of ‘the third ep’ last year. Talking about her inspirations for the track, Lauren tenderly explains that the message behind ‘Worth It’ is one that she has been ruminating on for a while. Seeking out to put into words a situation which transcends language she wrote
“I always knew I could be worthy of love, but I had a toxic idea of what loving meant. I’d ‘fallen in love’ with someone who kept telling me I wasn’t enough and yet kept me around. They had so much control over me that even after they weren’t in my life, I shaped my entire life around proving to them that I could be loved”
Her writing has long explored narratives of trauma and personal struggles but she has consistently explained that the process of writing and coming to terms with these feelings has been what pushes her as an artist. Music for her is a means to deal with ‘big’ feelings and find a way to uplift, grow, and better understand herself.
The track opens with a hearty guitar line and beat which from the get-go instils a feeling of hope, anticipation and aspiration. The chord progression has a way of really pushing things forward and driving the melody onwards and upwards; it never quite fully resolves and as such you get the sense of something continuously building and evolving. Girlhouse’s opening lyric is a point of intrigue and they begin to pull back the layers on what she is feeling.
‘I’ll paint you pictures if you make the bed, I’ll play it stupid if that's what makes sense. You walk the line so I play pretend, everybody knows how this story ends.’
From this line, you really begin to understand the nature of the relationship. It is completely one-sided and the Lauren who we are being shown here is not the ‘real’ Lauren. Girlhouse juxtaposes this idea of wearing a mask behind what sonically sounds like discovery and the sense of finding yourself. Seeing her in the context of this relationship and the ways it is forcing her to ‘play it stupid’ and be something she isn’t will allow us to truly understand the gravity of her evolution through the song makes her growth that more pertinent. She continues with the titular line, ‘Let me show you I’m worth it’ something which will repeat throughout the track. As she says these lines the instrumental swells; it is growing alongside her.
As she moves into the next section, the track continues to build and the rhythm section in particular gets the spotlight. The drums and guitar pulses against her lyrics in a call and response style; it is a reflection of her heartbeat pushing her through the struggle and giving her the determination to prove herself. It's a real moment of retribution and as you listen to the track through blasting headphones you can’t help but start to bang your head along. As she sings the chorus, she is lifted up by a harmony line and her feeling of isolation dissolves away. Things soften again for the second verse but the tone of the lyrics have shifted for the better. She talks about how she doesn’t feel the same way as before and can’t stand by and idly listen. The beat which continues through the second verse reflects how she has grown stronger and while it's taking a back seat, that same big burst of energy is carried through into how she talks to the person who has caused her heart so much pain.
While it's not entirely laid out in the lyrics, sonically you understand just how far she has come and her sense of empowerment and conviction is palpable. Its an exciting place to be and lends itself well for more releases, but unfortunately for us there’s no way of knowing when we can expect more music. As she gets ready to head on a tour with Copeland around the East Coast of America this month, what is for certain is that there’s a lot to look forward to with Girlhouse over the next few months.
Words by Kirsty-Ann Thomson
