Brittany Elise Breaks Down Every Track On New Album ‘Just Be’

Since early 2021, Brittany Elise has released a slew of Top 5 iTunes Country chart singles, was crowned winner of the Gympie Music Muster’s NAB Talent Search, a finalist in Toyota Star Maker Australia among other accolades and has embarked on her national Feel The Fire tour, which includes guest spots with Alex Lloyd, James Johnston, Amber Lawrence, Brad Butcher, Jeremy Marou and Darlinghurst.

Now all that hard work culminates in the release of her brand-new album, Just Be. The 7-track release is bursting with vibrant original music. Her lyrics are full of empowering and inspirational messages of hope and love, while the music is a tumultuous blend of country and pop, swirling around fiercely delivered vocals. Every track has come from Brittany’s pen, with the occasional co-writer.

We’re so delighted to bring you this exclusive track by track, as Brittany Elise talks us through each individual track: the creation, sentiment, and everything in between.

-----------------------

1. Feel the Fire 

At the foundation of Feel the Fire was my passion for following my music career but also the sacrifices that were needed to get me to where I am. My support network allowed me to do this. I wanted to write an electric, powerful, catchy anthem that empowers listeners to sing it loud especially at live shows. This was created with the electric guitars, big dancing drums and teaching the singalong part right from the start of the song. I wanted to share a small moment of what it’s like to ‘feel the fire’ and follow a music career whilst also allowing listeners to be fierce and follow what’s burning inside of them – Change jobs, work overseas, return to university, ask for a pay rise.

2. Sunshine Hurricane 

Sunshine Hurricane was written as a feel good, roadtrip, summer airwaves song. I was driving on the highway on a beautiful, sunny day with my window down and the radio playing my favourite songs. If you’ve ever been driving on a highway and only put one window down and not the other, the inside of the car becomes like a whirlwind – fresh air, freedom and chaos at the same time. This then turned into the lyrics - “The feeling of sunshine with a little hurricane” and the “oohs”, reminding us to let go and live each day - find life’s good times, the feeling of freedom and use those moments that are chaos/test us, to make you stronger.

3. Like Me That Way 

We often try to fit into crowds that don’t suit us, wear particular brands, feel like the only way to stay connected is through our phones or think we need to act a certain way. I wrote this song as a breakup anthem for someone who tried to change me, and a reminder to everyone else to never change who you are as a person especially if others are telling you to, to fit their mould. We need to be proud of who we are and just be our own number 1 fan.

I also took inspiration from two powerful artists and songs - Kasey Chambers’ Not Pretty Enough and Missy Higgins’ Scar, which gave me the idea of the line - “I like the way I am, yeah I like me that way”.

4. House a Home 

House a Home is a story telling song about all the things I was reminiscing about that mattered whilst growing up in our childhood home. It’s the simple things that made our house a home – dad’s shoes at the front door meant he was home from shift work, sharing home cooked meals, learning to ride my bike, family story times, the laughter, our height chart on the back of my bedroom door, learning to play instruments and the odd objects within the house that don’t match. I can still smell the home cooked meals and envisage all the objects around our childhood home every time I play this song. It’s the feeling you always remember.

5. Find Your Music 

I was thinking about my life and how everyone is trying to fit in to what society wants. But life is just too short to let things hold you back. A straight-out country pop, feel good song that sounds like fun while listening, and was certainly fun while making it. How many catchy hooks could be put into a 3-minute track, was the challenge for this song. Even after we finished recording, I then went back and added the echo backing vocals to keep increasing the energy. Find Your Music is about not putting too much pressure on yourself, just do and be who you want to be, even if that is outside of what people want you to do.

6. Dear Brother 

Growing up surrounded by so many boy mates, it became apparent that it’s never been at the forefront for them to call another mate and actually ask if they are doing ok. We all carry burdens and at times it gets too much, which became very clear when we unexpectedly lost our best mate to his battle with mental health. Dear Brother starts with piano and fiddle, into a power ballad to capture the emotion I wrote with this song. Although this song can still bring great sadness, it also brings warmth through the power of music and its potential influence on others. The most important thing I intended for this song is that we are all worth something and can’t lose sight of how precious time is.

 7. Just a Man 

Just a Man is the true story of the beautiful, selfless, family man who introduced me to guitar – Robbie. He grew up working on the cane fields in North Queensland. An incredible musician who lost his ability to play guitar due to major health issues and arthritis of his hands. The idea for this song was to keep it simple and acoustic to capture the emotion and rawness. The vocals were recorded in one take. You can even hear the part in the song where I had to hold back tears. His great work will be carried on forever through my songs. A song of gratitude and dedication to him.

-----------------------

Keep up to date with Brittany Elise and follow her on Facebook here.
Brittany will continue her Feel The Fire tour into 2023 – see dates here.