Review: "Can I Be Happy" - Lauren Presley
- Victoria Fitzgerald
- Feb 20
- 2 min read
Updated: Mar 19
A lot of life is the pursuit for balance. Nurture a relationship while enjoying your youth. Building a family while establishing a career. The endless chase for balance can cause distress in some cases. This is illustrated by Lauren Presley’s “Can I Be Happy”, in which she demonstrates the mental battle between self-acceptance and self-improvement and endless expectations being underwhelmed by unfulfilled goals. This song allows for plenty to resonate, as everyone has been burned by trying to reach and exceed their own expectations for themselves. The endless pursuit for fulfillment and bettering oneself can result in conflicting feelings of inadequacy. Anyone who has experienced this can relate and reflect on their journeys through this song
This song is heavily introspective. There is a feeling of almost yearning as difficult feelings are reflected upon. Presley’s vocal tone is strong, yet vulnerable. Complimenting the subject matter nicely, her voice invites listeners to not just consume the song, but rather experience it with her. The song does not overwhelm, rather it starts small and builds slowly. The combination of exposed piano, light strings, and subtle percussion create an exposed instrumentation that matches the reflective and vulnerable quality of the lyrics. Presley establishes this sad atmosphere, but also demonstrates a story-like quality in her writing. She creates a subtle sense of optimism and illustrates how struggle is simply a journey to something better.
Lauren Presley is a musician based in Nashville, Tennessee, but she was born in Texas. Taking inspiration from Tate McRae, Nessa Barrett, and FLETCHER, she works primarily within an alt-pop and dark pop style. Her voice and writing demonstrate her technical and artistic abilities as a musician. Her skill did not go unrecognized by the public, and her first single “A Little Longer” ended up being a major success, with 1 million streams on spotify and views surpassing 5 million on YouTube. Lauren Presley is truly a force to be reckoned with. Do not miss the journey of a great artist and be sure to follow along on her social media.
Written By Victoria Fitzgerald
FOLLOW LAUREN:
*Sponsored Post - Discovered on Musosoup. A contribution was made to help create this article.
