Pain and happiness of love, life, and romantic relationships

‘Truth’ by Becca Hess album review

By Naomi Ambrose, Staff Writer

Becca Hess, a BC country pop singer-songwriter, invites listeners to tune into her perspective about the joys and sorrows of falling in and out of love on her 10-track sophomore album Truth, released on February 4.

On “In This Town,” the first track on the album, Hess sings about her frustration with not finding love. As the song continues, Hess eventually accepts her reality, where she concludes that maybe she’s better off being alone. The musical arrangement of “In This Town” also illustrates the isolation we might experience when we’re looking for a romantic relationship. By starting off the song with a singular, solitary hand-clapping type of beat, Hess seems to want the audience to reflect on the isolation that occurs when we’re on the quest to find a significant other.

Although the album mostly has songs about the frustration and disappointment of romantic relationships, “Stranded”—the eighth track on the album—is a refreshingly optimistic song about the excitement of being in love. “I’m lost but my heart is landed. I’m home I’m stranded,” Hess sings, like she’s telling us that she finally found love. “Hit my heart like a hurricane, got me upside down like a tidal wave” is another line whereby Hess alludes to her experience getting hit straight to her heart by the power of love.

Another surprising moment on the album occurs on the track “I Don’t Do Love Songs.” The song’s musical production is a change from the contemporary country pop beat that reverberates throughout the album. The music of “I Don’t Do Love Songs” sounds like the classic, old-school country songs by female country music pioneers like Patsy Cline and Tammy Wynette.

A second surprise in this track occurs when Hess suddenly sighs close to the end of “I Don’t Do Love Songs.” After listening to Hess’s sigh, you may think that the song ends at that point; however, the song continues to keep things unexpected by having a pause in the song after Hess’s sigh. The audience may hear a faint male voice who mumbles a sentence. The music then starts again with a musical interlude until the song ends.

Even though Hess generally sings about the despair and turmoil of love and romantic relationships, the album’s overall upbeat dance vibe—combined with Hess’s vocals—will be a delight for listeners who long for upbeat music during moments of heartache and heartbreak.