There’s a specific element of being human, equal parts horrific and gratifying, that’s perhaps most evident and aggrandized in moments of creation. It’s when we completely succumb to and accept the impact of all things external, pivot inwards and allow whatever is there to erupt, results and reactions be damned.
Nicki Tedesco‘s newest single, “Trapped Inside,” personifies this point while interrogating the listener to wonder if it’s a calculated creation or the product of this aspect of humanity.
The single is the first release from Tedesco’s third studio album, her Heaven Is A Ghost Town EP, set for release May 22. It will be Tedesco’s third studio release in three years.
You can find and pre-order Nicki Tedesco’s new EP on Bandcamp!
The crux of the song is it’s incredibly simple, perfect chorus, a single line ultimately repeated four times to end it: “I’m trapped inside.” Tedesco is humanizing her individuality here, struggling and clawing to not only remain but emerge from inside herself.
Each verse illustrates and compounds the crushing pressure Tedesco is feeling. The opening line, “I make up lies to fill the time,” reads as both a brag and a plea. She thinks she has something revelatory to say, but is aware that it could totally miss with a broader audience
There’s a pervasive element of suspense throughout the song stemming from this pressure. There’s no buildup; the song starts hard and fast, and only amps up. The bridge following the second chorus is slick and raw; whatever is coming next is that eruption she’s been building to.
That eruption is quadrupling down on the chorus. The most honest thing she has to say, to scream, is that she’s crushed by the expectations of everything foisted upon her. Shining a light on that is the first step to letting whatever else is in there loose. One can only hope this is the tip of the iceberg, and the rest of the album is that avalanche of Tedesco.
