In our youth, we’re forced to face the ups and downs of growing up; whether this means heartbreak or bullying or losing self-confidence, we’ve all had times when we might’ve felt that it’d be easier if we had someone to shoulder those moments with. It’s an unfortunate yet necessary part of life that we’re going to encounter these hard times, but we can all be comforted by the fact that eventually, one day, we’ll become that exact person who can deal with those moments with confidence and support. In Jenny Baker’s title track of her latest EP “Person That You Need”, she details that exact narrative about navigating your youth and becoming the person that you needed when you were younger. A poetic track about always growing into the exact person who could and would deal with those situations with wisdom and love, “Person That You Need” feels like a hug from your older self, a person you can always rely on to be your rock.
“Person That You Need” is a different kind of nostalgia– it's so very reflective, with a touch of melancholy. It’s more like glancing behind your shoulder at your younger self briefly enough to catch a glimpse of them, only to throw yourself forward into the present to see that you’ve become exactly the kind of person you could lean on. The track’s instrumentals especially bolster this atmosphere, its piano and strings being gentle and kind; they feel inherently comforting with how soft they are, tentative in the beginning but swelling with confidence as the track continues on. The soundscape is completed with Baker’s beautiful vocals, and altogether these instrumentals enhance the world that is crafted in “Person That You Need”. I love how each verse frames a moment in the narrator’s life like a vignette, a time when they needed someone, but didn’t have them. From being picked on to losing a friend to a breakup, the track tells its listener what it means to live– heartbreak and pain are sadly inevitable, but you’ll get through it, and become stronger because of it. As the song says, “One day I will be / The person that I need”. You have always been the person that you need, and you always will be.
Singer-songwriter Jenny Baker is an artist whose music seeks to encapsulate universal emotions and present them through her lyricism. Drawing inspiration from artists such as Julia Michaels and Taylor Swift, her music empowers her listeners through her honest and open pop style. She is a recent graduate of Harvard University, where she studied sociology with a focus on feminism and human rights, and a member of the Berklee College of Music Dual Degree Program. There, she studied songwriting, performance, and music business. She acknowledges that these concepts are not mutually exclusive to her, and uses her platform to spread awareness about the issues she is passionate about. Since releasing her debut single in 2021, entitled “Historical Fiction”, she has gone on to release many more singles and two EPs, the more recent of the two being “Person That You Need”, which released in June 2024. If you enjoyed “Person That You Need”, you should absolutely check out the rest of the EP, and her discography, too!
Written By Alexa Leung
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