New Music Review - ‘Bathroom Stall’ by Leah Kelsey
Bathroom Stall is the first of 12 releases that Leah Kelsey is releasing this year. Released on 27th January 2023, the song strikes quite a few heartstrings. Photo credit: Leah’s music Facebook page.
Christchurch musician, Leah Kelsey, has set herself a hard, yet attainable, mammoth year of tasks in the form of releasing 12 songs for each month of 2023. This seems like it would be a hard experiment to achieve, however, if Leah’s next releases are anything like the first of 2023, Bathroom Stall, they will be sure to reach a whole new audience, touching many souls along the way with next to no issues.
When first hearing Bathroom Stall upon the release yesterday morning, there were waterfalls threatening to be unleashed, air punches to be carried out and a loss of words for the emotion that Leah has put into the song. It cut some heartstrings of those who can understand the sentiment of the lyrics, which will be a fair few, I’d imagine.
The momentous importance of Bathroom Stall should essentially shake everyone to their core and think before acting, because actions obviously can cause someone a world of hurt.
It is evident that the hidden pain within the walls of Leah’s new release is something that may have been unexpected, however, Leah clearly knows how to deal with the type of situation she is implying through the song and in turn, that makes me realise how powerful us females actually are and how incredible the human voice can be when it is pushed out into the world for others to hear the stories of the past.
Lyrics such as “you call girls pretty, you don’t know. Why’s it so hard to just leave them alone? I shouldn’t feel bad, I didn’t ask for this at all…” that break open the song into what it becomes, showcases what it can be like when females in particular get unwanted attention. “How dare you wait till she’s alone?” strikes a very hard chord and even gave me a little bit of anxiety hearing that line, knowing this is a reality for some that shouldn’t be real under any circumstance. Heart-breaking.
Leah has these sultry, sun-soaked, sweet vocals that engage you in Bathroom Stall, along with the gorgeously, well thought-out strums of an acoustic guitar that fill out the song, creating another aspect of how it all comes together. Emotionally raw, yet sensitive at the same time.
Leah has really stunned me with this new serenade and with another 11 tunes on the horizon, I cannot wait to see what February holds.
Thank you, Leah, for being so personable and sharing the truths behind attention from others that is not wanted. I think you are doing the world of good, speaking up and getting yourself heard!
You can keep up to date with Leah at all of the below links -