Hasn’t the pandemic made us all feel a bit miserable? It certainly impacted British singer-songwriter and musician Kate Nash, who has openly spoken about the plight of touring musicians and artists throughout the past year, and unpacks those feelings in her new single “Misery,” which was released last week. The track will be the first single from Nash’s upcoming unannounced fifth album.
In “Misery,” Nash is at her emotional lowest, but also at her sweetest, acknowledging that we all collectively feel miserable —but we should all be there to help one another out (“Running like we never run before, I will never leave you behind”).
One of the influences from the track is the 1990 film “Misery,” based off of the Stephen King novel with the same name. The film stars James Caan as Paul Sheldon, an author who just finished the final novel in his series of Victorian romance novels, and Kathy Bates as Annie Wilkes, an obsessive fan who “takes care” of Sheldon as he recovers from a car accident. In promotional artwork for the single, Nash has Photoshopped her head over Wilkes’ in images from the movie.
But, of course, the song doesn’t center around the classic movie. It centers around real-life misery, something that is, as with most Kate Nash songs, incredibly relatable.
Nash displays how the past year has impacted her in the lyrics “I feel so emotional, I wanna quit when everything gets me down, down, down / I feel so sensitive, It’s hard to live when everything gets me down, down, down.”
She sings over sweeping strings, a far cry from her two most recent albums, the riot grrl-inspired Girl Talk and more pop-infused Yesterday Was Forever.
Each of Nash’s albums have had their own distinct sound and influences that have impacted that sound, and it’s interesting to see such a departure from her former work on “Misery.” Kate Nash is constantly experimenting with her sound, and “Misery” leaves a good enough impression on this new path Nash is taking that it’s exciting to see where she goes next when her new album is released.
To support her new music, Nash is going on tour, but not in the traditional sense. The musician has been active on social media, including her Patreon, in which she’s been performing live shows throughout the pandemic, and now she’s announcing her ‘Safely Out of the Bedroom Tour.’ She’ll be performing in scenic locations throughout the United States (the tour kicked off in California’s Sequoia National Forest on May 21). Fans can livestream the shows for $12.
In addition to releasing “Misery,” Nash will be performing a new song at each stop on her tour.
“Misery” is available now.
0 comments on “Kate Nash Returns With “Misery,” a Song About COVID Fatigue”