Premiere: Elisabeth Beckwitt readies mind & body for total ‘Free Fall’

There’s a moment you can catch a glimpse of your body tumbling into the black abyss. It’s just a second, a snapshot in time, that you step outside of the physical world and hang upside-down as a sticky star in the heavens. Arising out of past childhood trauma, Nashville’s alt-pop darling Elisabeth Beckwitt has not only come to grips with a tragic past, but she fully commands and guides her own narrative with budding new presence born out of necessity. New single “Free Fall,” premiering today and officially out next Friday (May 3), shifts between the frigid first light of the unknown, which rumbles just out of sight over the horizon, and the rush it also vows to bring. Waves lap against her skin, but the anticipation of thrill intoxicates her right down to the bones. “We are an encore / We are unresolved,” she coos, advising herself that the forthcoming sojourn might just be worth risking everything.

“We are the moment right before the free fall,” she sings, positioning the hook as a blissful act of absolution. Her staggering vocal cords scale the melody instantly afterward and operate as a sublime showcase of her naturally mountain-moving gifts of emotional storytelling. Her head voice is expectedly stimulating, filling the listener’s lungs with the exact weight of what’s to come. “This song is all about taking a chance on something new, even if it means the world will end,” Beckwitt writes to B-Sides & Badlands over email, inviting us on an epic tale of self-discovery and adventure. “To anybody who is desperately trying to ignore any confusing new feelings they’re experiencing in favor of some outdated labels; afraid of embracing their sexuality and pursuing something that could be wonderful ⏤ it’s okay to let yourself fall. I know it’s terrifying; it’s also worth it.”

Beckwitt, who identifies as pansexual, a true warrior living her best life, brandishes a budding romantic entanglement as the impetus for her transformation to accept herself. “She’s got such soft lips / No, don’t get me started / It keeps getting harder  to pretend like there’s nothing going on,” she sings as she ruffles her unseen feathers for the life-off into the stratosphere. She fathoms and probes the possibilities further, “But with each little touch, I hope it’s just enough / To call this some kind of love / And take a chance to see what’s going on.” You take the plunge or you stay stagnant and choke on your own breath. Beckweitt is here, soaring high as a phoenix into the rose-smattered dusk, and we’re at her mercy to take the chance, too.

“Free Fall” is the first sampling to Beckwitt’s new EP, Indigo, expected July 26.

Listen below:

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