Ben Madden

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Juice Webster Is Looking For Comfort On ‘Wanna Be Held’

Juice Webster. Photo supplied.

Melbourne singer/songwriter Juice Webster has just released her new single Wanna Be Held, and I reckon it’ll really get you thinking about your loved ones. It’s a song that builds towards a cinematic, all-encompassing finale, and you’ll get swept up in Juice’s vocals. Juice has just announced her second EP, More Than Reaction, which I think is an apt description for this song. Yes, you’ll feel a certain type of way when listening to it, but look beyond that. Take in the little details - the drum pattern, the guitar licks. It’s a gorgeous composition.

I’ve always been a sucker for a slow-burning track - Phoebe Bridgers’ This Is The End is one of my favourite songs of 2020 for that very reason. I see similarities between that track and this, in both Juice’s vocals and the song’s structure. You’ll enjoy listening to this track for the second time more than the first, because the anticipation of what’s to come following the slow build is electric. Some songs don’t deserve an elongated length, but that’s not true of Wanna Be Held. This song could be double the length, and the final minute would be worth the build-up.

Speaking about the track, Juice says it came from a place of wanting stability. “I wrote Wanna Be Held during a time when I was feeling really unsettled and reactive. I felt like my mind was constantly jumping between a hundred different things that I was struggling to make sense of, and all I was doing was reacting to what was happening around me. I really envied those with a one-track mind and felt such a desire to just lock into something and focus, but I couldn’t seem to get there.

“The idea of being held in one place for a minute, by someone who I find comfort in, was very appealing and just about the only thing I could think of that would chill me out and slow me down. I wasn’t looking for anything to change, because when I really thought about it, there wasn’t anything that I wanted to be different. I just needed to be held still for a minute.” If you have someone special in your life, hold them close - it might be what they need at that very moment.

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Check out Wanna Be Held below. The track’s release was accompanied by a live video shot at the Tote, and I really dig it. The switch between HD and grainy footage captures both the rawness and the sparkling beauty of the song. I actually think this song sounds better performed live in the video than recorded, mainly because the idea of wanting someone to hold you is an ever-evolving idea - it’s not static. That’s the case for me, anyway. My girlfriend’s currently at work, so I’m going to cuddle my dog after listening to this. It’s the small things in life that matter.