It’s difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel when everything around us is just dark. And sometimes, that’s somehow comforting, allowing us to delve into feelings like pain, uncertainty, and sadness. “Lately I’ve been really sick of trying / Maybe I just wanna take the wrong way out,” Tatiana Hazel sings in her newest single, Better Off, out today. The Chicago-born, LA-based artist opens up about searching for one’s meaning and place in the world, a difficult task to many, and an ever-present challenge in everyone’s lives. Because change is the only constant in the world, and we see ourselves reconsidering our goals, identity, and belonging from time to time.
Better Off starts softly with Tatiana’s raw, heartfelt voice singing lyrics that give listeners an insight into her mood. “Maybe it’s all in my head / Maybe I’m better off dead / Maybe our shadow is scared of the things you said,” she says. In them, you can sense that sensation of feeling lost, of not knowing where to go or what path to choose. This is something almost all of us go through, and it’s as painful as it is, looking back, rewarding when we listen to our guts and make the right decisions.
After this year’s previous release, If You Only Knew, Tatiana’s new single keeps on building hype around her upcoming debut album, titled Can Anybody Hear Me?, whose release date is yet to be confirmed. However, Better Off was written over two years ago during the artist’s first session with producer Ilan Rubin of Nine Inch Nails and Angel & Airwaves. Blending Tatiana’s lyricism with Rubin’s dynamic production, the song is a perfect example of how two talents combine to create something bigger, in this case, an alternative track that builds into a heavy rock ballad.
