On May 24, 2024, Bess Atwell released her latest album ‘Light Sleeper’, which includes the track “I Am Awake”.
The song starts with a bit of a folk feel, with Atwell’s lush vocals complimenting the instrumental, which sound a bit like a dreamy lullaby. It slowly starts to grow and has a heart-aching induced chorus with lyrics like “Cause I don’t want to let you love me until you don’t save your forever for somebody else, I am awake and I know I should know how this goes”. The song feels like a giant wake up call in a seemingly toxic relationship, ready to let go of the other person than go through the pain of false promises again. Atwell has the ability to word paint like no other, her vocals giving a tranquil feeling that is very reminiscent of late 60s and 70s folk-style songs. The song stays relatively neutral the entire time, however I would never say it is a bore, you are enamored the entire listen and follow along with the story that Bess conveys.
The singer-songwriter hails from the United Kingdom. The release of ‘Light Sleeper’ marks the 4th full album Atwell has released since the start of her artist journey in 2016. The 10-track album, including song “I Am Awake” lets the listener see just how much Atwell has grown in her artistic journey of almost a decade. “I Am Awake” is a song that feels very transformative, especially for those of all ages dealing with toxic relationships, whether they are romantic, platonic or even family. I recommend this song and artist to those who listen to singer-songwriters like Noah Kahan and Aurora.
Written by Ayesha Khahera