Singled Out: Jessi McNeal “In Between”

There is an immediate heaviness to this single from Jessi McNeal’s forthcoming release. Drums throb and heaving guitar lines punctuate the track from the get go. But there is a balance. The angelic quality of McNeal’s voice soon parts that heaviness and enters, floating and dipping in the reverberating soundscape. The breaks giving perfect reprieve to, perhaps, match the heaviness of her words. “Its a thin dream, and we’re all waiting in between” she sings in a sort of melancholy fashion, before entering back in with “there’s beauty in the waiting“, resolving in hope, in light, in something more…

Who: Jessi McNeal

From: Washington State

Song: “In Between”

Latest Record: new LP The Driveway, out on 8/16

What About It: “I feel like the overarching theme of the album is really about the middle ground – the in-between, the waiting, the hope-not-yet-seen, and this particular song really shines a light on that vulnerable space. I wrote this song when I was wrestling with some difficult circumstances – wanting things to be better and feeling some regrets as well. I needed to acknowledge both of those sentiments and to accept that I was simply in that in-between space, where the answers and resolution had yet to arrive. I sometimes hear people refer to it as the ‘messy middle,’ but lately, I’ve been thinking of it as the ‘sacred middle.’ Brené Brown says, ‘owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we will ever do.’ This isn’t easy work and I’m certainly no expert on it, but I’m grateful for the people in my life who have encouraged me to avoid taking shortcuts through pain when I’ve faced seasons like this. I know I’m stronger for it, and I hope I have more to offer to those around me because of it.”