​Being a woman is hard.

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I know I’m most likely preaching to the choir if you find yourself reading this, but it’s the truth. In a world that seems to constantly be either against us or pitting us against each other, it’s hard being a woman for a laundry list of reasons that my blood pressure cannot take me getting into at the moment.

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But 2024 is the year of the women in music (and life!), and if one thing is true, it’s that my girlies have got my back. The latest to hold my hand, give me a hug, sing about situations I can relate to far too much, and subsequently coach me through life through her own experiences is Haley Joelle with her new album “Crossing More Than City Lines”.

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Where to begin when trying to put CMTCL into words? Haley takes her listeners on a journey across the world and right into the heart of the modern girlhood experience, placing us in her shoes as she navigates an on-again off-again situationship that spans timezones and continents. It’s a reminder that girlhood and the female experience is universal. The situations in which we sometimes find ourselves where we feel as though we love too hard and fall too fast can be very isolating. We’re stuck overthinking and spiraling in our thoughts about people who don’t spare a second one on us. But Haley’s here to remind us that we aren’t alone in these situations. And if it has to happen at all, at least we can all relate to and share in the emotions that come with it.

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Simply put, this album is Haley’s best music yet. It’s familiar, but also new. It’s reminiscent of her first project “Two Places at Once”, which depicts the trials and tribulations of long distance relationships, but it’s elevated. You can clearly see the growth Haley has undergone not only musically but also as a person. She explores new sounds while staying true to herself, carrying over that authenticity and professionalism she has with all of her art. 

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It would be easy to lean into the scorned lover trope and bash the muse of which the album is about, but that isn’t Haley. It’s heartfelt and honest above all, focusing on what she knows best: herself and her feelings as she navigated the peak female experience that is the epitome of womanhood. This album is much more than a collection of songs about dating struggles as a mid-twenty year old. It’s a reminder that we are never really alone in these feelings, regardless of how it might feel in that moment. And there’s just something so beautiful about that.

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“Crossing More Than City Lines” by Haley Joelle is out now.

 

By Amanda Kolar

(@amanda_kolar)