Chelsea Williams is not your typical L.A girl. While the proverbial sunshine seems to have rubbed off on her softened pop sensibilities, there is a much stronger force driving her music, a little more rough, but not without its gleaming sheen. The Americana-inspired vocalist has had some time to reflect since her 2017 release, Boomerang, with her newest single, “Wasted” offering up a side of Williams that feels more sure of itself than ever before. A feat impossible to miss on her accompanying video, premiering exclusively on EARMILK today.
There is an ease to the way Williams strums her guitar, melody as vibrant as her rose-coloured floral dress. As her toxic relationship scenes play out behind her, she calmly plays on as a mocking beacon of “been-there-done-that”, offering no condolences for her less enlightened past self. Instead, she uses the harmonized “ah-ah-ah”s as fodder for a defiant stand amongst a deserted field, freeing herself of all the doubts and poisonous thoughts endured in past relationships. “I was a master of toxic relationships in my 20s,” she remarks. “There’s nothing like the freedom you feel when you get out of a toxic relationship.”
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Truer words have rarely been spoken, and though she shares a lot more of them on “Wasted”, it’s the charismatic acoustic arrangement that truly makes you listen. It’s complexion in disguise, perfectly aligning dynamic layers of guitar chords and a simple backbeat. It periodically sneaks in other subtle instruments, jovial and innocent, never once letting you escape its irresistible charm. A quirk that hopefully won’t be lost on her forthcoming album, Beautiful and Strange, dropping on May 8th.
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