PHOTO : KASSEY SHIER
NUELA CHARLES PERFORMING AT BREAKOUT WEST 2022 understood not just what the song was and where it would fit , but also who I am .”
That speaks to the feeling Charles previously mentioned of – somewhere along the way – having drifted away from her artistic identity , caught on waves of doubt that eroded the clarity she felt earlier on . It ’ s the kind of thing everyone experiences at one point or another . We ’ ve all heard that little self-critical voice that says : what other people think is more important than our thoughts ; that maybe we ’ re not good enough , wise enough , or experienced enough .
Put bluntly , the 10 tracks on Charles ’ s record put the boots to that voice handily , and that ’ s the point . The message at the core of the album for her personally , and the one she hopes listeners will take from it , is that by shutting down the voices that threaten to limit you , you ’ re better able to find a way through whatever challenges you face .
“ During the pandemic , we all had a lot of time to live with ourselves ,” Charles says . For songwriters , on the positive side , that can allow time to let ideas percolate , but – on the negative side – toxic doubts had time to do the same . It comes with the territory and the act of putting yourself and your work out there to be judged and commented on by others . But , usually , those feelings are offset by the affirmation provided by other people in-person , in real time , particularly during live performances . With that off the table , a great number of people in the music industry – technicians , artists , and others – naturally began to wonder whether they should continue along the path they ’ d been on pre-COVID .
Charles was no exception . “ For me , it was trying to decipher if I still wanted to do music and what that would look like . There are always outside voices — people telling you what to do and how to do it .” Voices that , if you give credence to them , can lead you to focus so much on pleasing others that the thing you do that once made you happy can start to have the exact opposite effect . “ It got to a point where if I were to continue doing music , I have to do it for me and for the reasons why I started – because I like writing songs , sharing stories , making people feel good , and , hopefully , putting a message out there that ’ s positive .”
While that ’ s something that informs the album overall , perhaps nowhere does Charles sum it up more succinctly and powerfully than on “ Voices ,” one of three brief , lo-fi interludes included on the record . If “ Voices ” reads like Charles sending a note to herself , that ’ s because she is . One that asks : “ When did we stop listening to ourselves ? When did everybody else ’ s opinion mean more than our own ?”
While it ’ s a very short piece , it ’ s one of the most striking bits on the album . Not only because of its off-the-cuff vibe – it is a voice memo , after all – but because it neatly sums up the sentiments she digs into on tracks like “ Top of the World ,” “ Don ’ t Get It ” ( with its Bondtheme-like drama and flair ), and “ Worthy ,” a track that encourages listeners to believe that having faith in themselves will eventually help them get through their struggles and “ get to the good part .”
“ A lot of the little affirmations I was using in my own life seeped into the record . ‘ Voices ’ was a reminder to myself , but also to people listening that the only voice they need to listen to is their own , that we ’ re all uniquely made , and that ’ s something special , so don ’ t let anyone tell you otherwise . We ’ re all just going through life , learning as we go . That was the biggest takeaway I want people to get from hearing this record .”
It doesn ’ t matter who you are or how you define yourself – everyone needs some affirmation at times – an encouraging nod implying you ’ re headed in the right direction , as opposed to just hearing you have the potential to find the “ right ” direction .
“ I think I ’ ve always been pretty confident in myself but still very internally aware of what everyone is saying .”
As a songwriter , a player , a performer , you ’ re always going to hear what others are saying ; some of it will be complimentary , some
36 CANADIAN MUSICIAN