Gabrielle Grace - “Are You Feeling Good”
“Are You Feeling Good” is a gorgeous song by Texas-born, but Nashville-based Gabrielle Grace. Easing into things with a lo-fi acoustic and modulated electric, Grace whispers out a beautiful melody as her voice gently trembles in a lovely vibrato that makes me believe every last syllable she sings.
The luscious mix builds wonderfully, adding elements as things progress. When the strings join in the chorus, the magic swells and the tension in the lyrics sheds a light on the relationship in peril. “Now you’re living on the brighter side make yourself at home. Stuck in the shadows, I’ll face it all on my own.” The sonic beauty increases as she asks: “Are you feeling good now?” Ironically, I do feel good, because the sound is wonderful. At the same time, I am feeling bad for her, while empathizing with the situation. And just when I thought things were built up nicely to a lovely level, it keeps going and, by the time she returns to the refrain, at 2:40, there are more strings and a perfectly blended piano. The volume has gently increased too, and I kind of feel like I’m levitating.
For anyone who has tried to write a song, you know that it isn’t easy to take a song higher and higher. It’s like there are five levels of increasing emotion in this tune and at the peak of the crescendo, the mood is masterfully maintained. The journey from intimate to expansive is expertly achieved in three minutes and then, just after the summit is reached, a splendid fade ushers in the intimacy again for a lovely sounding outro that leaves us with Grace’s delicate voice, reminding us that she will face it all on her own. Well, I feel like I’m right there with her. And you can feel it too when you press play.
Here’s what Grace had to say about the track: “‘Are You Feeling Good” captures the lingering pang of betrayal and the effort to try and move forward despite the hurt; ebbing and flowing with the raw emotions of cello and acoustic sounds.”