Week in Pop: Acting Strange, Baseball Gregg, Juliana LaChance

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Barleaux

The latest from Barleaux; press photo courtesy of the artist.
The latest from Barleaux; press photo courtesy of the artist.

NYC’s rising pop star Barleaux returned with the single “Freedom” that presents a follow-up of new frontiers since she dropped the W Y L D D E S ! R E album. The vocal pop artist expands her range & arrangements to create her most stunning work yet where the complications of desires, wants & needs all clash in a conflict of the heart & mind.

“Freedom” enters like a rising flash of feeling & overdubs of Barleaux’s vocals that bring you to the quandary of choosing bonds of commitment versus a life free of the restraints that relationships offer. Dysfunctional disintegrations and the thought processes of getting over it are played out in all honesty, while the synths accentuate the act & art of calling the whole thing off key progressions point toward bright new futures. “Freedom” also points toward exciting things to expect from the Barleaux in the very near future.

My new single, “Freedom,” came about in a very organic way. I demoed it in a sublet apartment in Brooklyn about a year ago, took it to my producer (Graham Stone of Stone Cold Fox), and we worked on making the mix perfect for months until we felt comfortable releasing it.

Barleaux taking over the vanity; photographed by Nathan Wahl.
Barleaux taking over the vanity; photographed by Nathan Wahl.

In terms of the message—it’s a bit complex. Even though it’s definitely partially about my ex, in recent weeks I’ve come to realize that it’s about a lot more than that. I’ve had a pretty challenging year, and I’ve been working on searching for that inner voice—the one you want to trust. In this said prior relationship, I don’t think I really listened to my inner voice and what I needed in the few years we were together. I constantly felt smothered, confused, and really just—well—not myself. The relationship kind of felt like a lie, because of what I was trying to prove to myself by staying with this person. And he’s great—it just didn’t fit. Bottom line—always follow your heart—and make sure to remain kind towards yourself whilst doing so.