Hailing from the small quaint town of Jackson Hole, WY, Justice Soul’s latest single explores heartache, and navigates the ups and downs of a failed relationship. If you’ve been blindsided by a breakup, you’d probably be puzzled about what exactly went wrong. You likely have a plethora of unanswered questions that are keeping you from moving forward. But for Justice Soul, rather than stay stuck in one place, he comes to terms with the fact that the relationship has ended. “Wasted” then becomes a therapeutic release for anyone dealing with heartbreak and is ready to ease themselves out of the rut and begin moving on.
Justice Soul has a knack for smooth melodies that waft over Bobby Crane’s wispy production, like red and yellow leaves caught in the wind during fall, lithe and passionate yet frictionless. His calling card is clear-eyed storytelling that, like the wise best friend you never heed love advice from, pinpoints precisely why a romance failed or succeeded. On “Wasted” he becomes honest with himself about what isn’t working for him in the relationship; The over-zealous expectations, the high-octane bliss moments followed by a downward spiral of energy-sucking conflict and all the time wasted, sees Justice Soul already had enough.
The pop singer transforms the song from a tense and sorrowful narrative into a pulsing encouragement through self-reflection. Justice Soul uses pain and hurt to transform “Wasted” into a rallying campaign for hope and peace of mind, but he’s still more melancholy here. The production also plays a huge role in that inertia. The song is soft and hushed, and its dulled percussion and starry keys drift in a vacuum. And his voice certainly has that power; it’s variously controlled and indulgent, evaporating into the cloudy synths and condenses beneath them as breathy sighs. The tempo never rises above a resting heart rate, the melodic flourishes dictate the shape of song, and his performance is consistently magnetic.
There’s an audience and a market for Justice Soul’s atmospheric take on Pop, but the most interesting aspects of his music is rooted in his malleability. Like James Arthur, Sam Smith, Shawn Mendes and other Pop artists who straddle genres, he’s got the fluency to provide more than a big hook or resonating lyrics. Whether he’s crooning, cooing, or humming, he brings an easygoing grace that tends to open up songs. “Wasted” gestures at this larger skill set, but settles for heartache vibes.
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