On her new single, "Free My Soul" singer-songwriter and producer Tess Posner isn't just creating a song, she's making a gateway. These portals lead to freedom and truth, and through an emotional purge, both profound in its individual experience and universal in its resonance.
The song, released in its final version today by Island Records, is building so much steam because it's entirely self-produced and a striking alt-pop anthem that weaves together infectious piano hooks with an excellent synth textures all underpinned by Posner's recognizability soaring vocals into a soundscape that feels like it belongs at massive festival stage or in your most isolated moments of contemplation. There's movement in the very first note, a release of pressure, a coming-into-light.
Where this track sticks out for me is in the lyrics. Tess is unapologetically honest. She jumps in with both feet, weaving new narratives and challenging her grooves with chisel-like lyrics. This is music for all of us on the far side of any man or woman who has ever felt held back by either expectation, the world's, their own, history, just that voice inside. But it's not about getaway, it's about rejuvenation.
The song lulls and swells emotionally, shifting from circumspect and airy in one moment to holding the weight of thunder in the next. The production doesn't overtake, but rather complements every word and allusion. End of the Line is a song that feels like a metamorphosis in sound. Bleeds darkness through a slow burn that bursts into light.