Now/It's: Something to Listen to - "Tell Me" by Notelle
The night does strange things to a person. It can change one’s purview, persuasions, and proclivities, sometimes for the better and other times, not so.
We’ve all been there one way or another; there’s no denying that (unless you’re some sort of a bluenose). There will always be nights of waking up in some foreign place, be it a bed, an alley way, a car, or not going to sleep at all - burning the candle at both ends.
Sometimes those vices come in the form of substances (you know which ones I’m talking about), situations, and other times, individuals - we all have our vices that can alter our predilections in a moment’s notice. Sure, this isn’t necessarily a novel concept, but there’s something to an absolute bender to whatever extent that maintains some sort of hedonistic appeal. There might be repercussions after the fact, but in the moment, damn was it a hell of a ride.
That’s the notion behind Notelle’s latest single, “Tell Me,” succumbing to personal vices by the most gratifying (see: pleasurable) means possible. That’s not a foreign concept to Notelle, though the song does explore the bounds of coming to terms with one’s own self-indulgent desires.
Musically, the syncopated low end on “Tell Me” places a veil of catastrophe over Notelle’s intonations. It’s panicked in the way one might be upon realizing they’ve left a wallet or purse at a bar the night before, only to feel the warm satisfaction of the vices that led to the moment the possessions were lost. That’s a strange euphoria, but it is a real thing, and an especially difficult thing to broadcast in song. Nevertheless, Notelle and producer Timothy Ryssemus manage to make it as familiar as any regrettable night.
Then again, who wants to live solely by their moral compass? Not Notelle, who wrote “Tell Me” as a means to break out of institutionalized repression of more unrestrained desires. “Tell Me” might be born of Notelle’s own experiences, but it’s a messy pop banger that’s familiar to any and all who have given into vice every now and again.
