The new Leith Ross album, I Can See The Future, is beautiful in every way an album could be. But what else did we expect? Leith Ross has never let us down, each album feels like a cluttered collage of pieces of their life and soul, poured into acoustic piano solos and sparkling guitar chords. It’s almost like we are opening a tiny haunted,upbeat music box that plays songs of childhood, and each soft melody and meaningful lyric is a piece of Leith they are showing to us. Leith is once again trusting us to tuck away their secrets and stories into the backrooms of our hearts, holding on to the lyrics that resonate.
I’ve held a half-hearted grudge against Leith Ross for years for being the reason I’d cry and crash out after mourning the loss of a high school situationship, with her tragically heartbreaking song “I’d Have To Think About It”. Their voice is so pretty but the lyrics are so painful, and if I ever needed to cry all I had to do was play that song and the tears would come effortlessly.
I took a deep breath before I pressed play on the new album, bracing for impact. Except, I was surprised when the first few songs didn’t strike pain through my heart like I was expecting them to do. Instead, their beautifully poetic, deep, and meaningful lyrics disguised in upbeat melodies and pretty guitar chords were the perfect backtrack for a chilly fall morning. With that being said, of course there was a sprinkle of sadness that I was introduced to upon my third or fourth time listening.
Although my favorite song on the album varies from day to day, the song “Terrified” is easily one of my favorites. The music and lyrics felt like a combination of Clairo and Phoebe Bridgers, two of my favorite artists. But of course, Leith is also very different from the two with their own original sound and rhythm. In this specific song, their painfully poetic lyrics paired with an upbeat tempo almost make me forget how sad the lyrics are.
The song itself is riddled with questions; A back and forth dialogue of anxious thoughts, ultimately encouraging us that maybe one day things will get better. Maybe one day we won’t live in anxiety and fear, and won’t be terrified of never knowing what will come next. It’s so easy to be terrified of love and give into the anxious swarms of thoughts that accompany it, but maybe that’s okay. This song has been on repeat for me because its duality is so perfect. When I feel emotional, I like to focus on the lyrics and feel the deeper meaning of the song, but if I’m simply driving to class or doing work in the library, I can let the melody hide the meaning of what the song is actually about. “One day I won’t be terrified” and “What if it hurts me? What if I die? Well, what if it feels good, if I feel alive?” are two of my favorite lines, but my all time favorite is: “Am I scared of death? Am I scared of living?.” These are meaningful questions I had never thought to ask myself. Leith offers these for us to think about, being vulnerable, open, and unapologetic.
“Grieving” is equally as poetically beautiful, while also introducing a sort of whimsical, forest, fairy-like melody into the album. Despite the title, this song feels less like grieving and more like celebrating. It’s almost reminiscent of the first Tinkerbell movie, or the instrumentals of the movie Tangled, with magical sounds of violins that pull you in and make you want to dance, all while discussing the sadness of grief and irony of funerals. “I never will stop grieving everything that’s yet to die. I think I’ll love after I’m dead and I’ll grieve while I’m alive.”
“Stay” is also easily one of my favorites, and once again the lyrics don’t miss. It’s like reading a poem, each line gave me chills. “My bread is your bread and my water is your water. I couldn’t be fed and not share in this all, too ‘cause I cannot be human alone.”
“I cannot be human alone” specifically is such a beautiful line. It reminds me that we all yearn for togetherness or a sense of belonging. The song itself is split into two parts. In the beginning, an acoustic guitar arpeggio with lyrics of love, and longing to know someone better everyday. In the second part, the song slows down and turns into more of an electric style, introducing new background vocals singing with Leith. I think I like both parts of the song equally, but the second part is such an interesting shift and change.
Although these songs all had sprinkles of upbeat music and softer themes about looking for joy and beauty in pain, “I Will” is a little bit on the sadder side. The promise of unconditional love for someone even if both people have hurt each other is sad but also beautiful. After first hearing this song I liked it, but after really listening to it on my fourth or fifth time, I broke down. There’s something to be said about choosing to love each other even through the worst of circumstances. This song made me think of subtly toxic relationships where even in times of anger or hatred, love always peeks through. “I knew you, I know you still. No matter how you’ve changed, and change you will.” Keeping promises and holding onto love over and over again despite it all is what the human experience is all about, and this song encapsulates it perfectly, promising to us that love always exists.
Additionally, I have such a soft spot for the songs “Alone,” “I Love Watching You Eat Dinner,” and “What My Love Is For.” Although these are also a little more sad, I love Leith’s brilliant lyrics that sound like poetry and feel like I’m looking inside my own heart, wrestling with thoughts that I have always had but never knew how to articulate. Many times musicians have the ability of taking the words out of our mouths and pairing them with music, and Leith does that so beautifully well.
I remember Leith blowing up on TikTok for their original-acoustic song “We’ll Never Have Sex,” which left a painful handprint on all of our hearts. But now, Leith is subtly shifting out of the sad music genre, and giving us more upbeat tunes and whimsical, fairy-like, music-box melodies still reminiscent of a painful past of grief and pain. Maybe we can learn to look for the love hidden within those moments, and surround ourselves with people who make life more bearable, because after all we cannot be human alone.
Everyone should listen to the new Leith Ross album and appreciate the lovely overlap of sadness, beauty, and nostalgia in their new music. Allow yourself to find pieces of yourself in Leith’s cluttered collage and take what resonates, because isn’t that what music is for?