Erika Wester’s single “Novelty” has all the hallmarks of a classic pop song: gorgeous melodies, entrancing arrangements that pull you immediately into the embrace of the song. And that’s exactly what makes it such a poignant and effective bit of musical writing in general. Webster honed in on the essential dysfunction of a toxic relationship and her own complicity therein by allowing the person bad for her having their hooks in her psyche and not quite being able to resist those charms because of some bad emotional habits she picked up along the way. It happens. But right from the beginning Wester sings “I hate the way you make me feel, I think I make up what I want to be real” as an acknowledgment of that the relationship and the connection in general is bad and that she has some issues with identifying what is real and what she wants to be real and holding on to what does feel good rather than what she wants to feel good because it’s supposed to because all relationships should be fulfilling even when they’re not, right? The rest of the song Wester paints for us some small situations that would be gutting in the experiencing but sounds not so bad with the tone of the song. And that’s the seduction of being the kind of person who hasn’t quite jettisoned these ingrained behavior from their psyche. But knowing you deserve and want better is a good first step and Webster begins with that. Is this literally about Wester’s life? It doesn’t matter. Maybe it’s something in the past, maybe it’s not, but it is an extremely relatable situation and mindset for most people at some point in their lives and laying it out there sometimes helps in getting the will to move onward from a psychological space that no longer serves you well. Titling the song “Novelty” frames the deeper sentiment of the song so well because no one wants to be that, no one wants to just have an emotional bond with someone on that basis and sometimes something or someone will appeal to us simply on that basis when we shouldn’t take it or them so seriously and make it or them part of our lives. Listen to “Novelty” on Spotify and follow Webster at the links below.
Queen City Sounds and Art 
You must be logged in to post a comment.