I’ll be straight with you. Since the pandemic, cash has been a little tight here at OutNewsGlobal so we haven’t had the luxury of being able to pay a music reviewer. This means that I have to write most of the reviews myself and, with time being at something of a premium, I have to be selective.
We try to focus on lesser-known artists and, although you will occasionally see a review of a major star’s output, we prefer to shine a light on up-and-coming young talent, usually from within the LGBTQ+ community. I get sent – and listen to (promise!) – around 30 tracks a week and very few make the grade. It’s not that they’re bad; au contraire, many are highly accomplished, but I’m looking for originality and something different from the mainstream and some are just too similar to something I’ve heard before. I mean, why listen to something that sounds a bit like Taylor Swift or Kylie when I can just listen to Taylor Swift or Kylie?
All of which brings me to Becky CJ’s latest release – out today, in fact – which is called “I Think I’m In Love With My Best Friend”, the second single from her upcoming EP Woman. I adore the title: many of us have been that person or, for that matter, been the best friend in question and goodness only knows how many platonic friend-on-friend relationships there are out there where one party secretly wants something more but is terrified to spill their guts.
It is this universal appeal, irrespective of sexuality or gender identity, which I love and the melody, chiefly performed by a simple piano track, is a quite beautiful accompaniment to Becky’s folky, plaintive vocal stylings. Sometimes in music, less is more, and while I have great admiration for the sort of symphonic productions produced by Phil Spector or Queen, over-elaboration can detract from the message and Becky gets it just right. That said, when the harmonies kicked in the hairs on the back of my neck stood to attention as the emotion of the track began to take hold.
Here’s what Becky has to say:
“I wrote ‘I Think I’m In Love With My Best Friend’ when I was a few months into a very emotionally confusing relationship with my female friend,” says Becky. “We had spent six months or so finding every way to spend as much of our time together as possible, we formed a band, started a podcast, were in a choir together and spent all our social time with one another. I knew that there was something different going on between us, I’d never had this kind of friendship before and it was starting to feel very overwhelming.”
“One evening I sat down at the piano and sang the phrase ‘I think I’m in love with my best friend’. I’d never said those words out loud before and honestly I just started crying, it was a really scary admission!! The song is really raw and I think it is the most honest I have ever been lyrically before. It means so much to me and now that me and my friend are together (woo it wasn’t unrequited) I look back on this song and what it represents so fondly.”
Listen for yourself on Spotify or Soundcloud.
