Single Review: Wide Awake

Indie-pop darling Belladonna offers a blissful new musical fantasy with her latest release, Wide Awake. Musing on the great questions of life that keep her up at night, the song finds Belladonna “starting to take comfort” in her curiosities, creating a spacious, tranquil number ideal for late-night meditation.

Produced by frequent collaborator Shannon Fowler, Wide Awake is given plenty of breathing room, to stunning effect. Opening with a breezy guitar and easy drums, the instrumentation is subtle, giving its details of buzzing notes at the end of the second verse, or single strums on clean electric guitars, all the more power and beauty. The performance primarily relies on Belladonna’s gentle, recognisable vocal to shape the lush track. Her prominent Kiwi accent and soft singing encapsulate the dreamy evening wonder her lyrics describe, in which she lies wide awake questioning her future, simultaneously nervous and confused, but positive about where it leads. It can be occasionally difficult to make out what Belladonna says. However, for the most part, this distorted, distant effect only adds to the beautifully hazy soundscape.

For a contemplative and consoling track which summarises the sound and biographic nature of Belladonna’s work well, Wide Awake is a loveable, carefully crafted tune I highly recommend.