Lauren Juzang Reevaluates A Relationship On New Single "It'll Be (Video Game Song)"

Lauren Juzang is back with another lush, folk-chirruping single with the release of “It’ll Be (Video Game Song),” the second track she’s shared from her forthcoming sophomore PEEK-A-BOO! EP. The first arrived at the end of last year in the form of the spaciously luminous and heartwrenching ballad “Yeehoo!” Juzang continues to prove herself a provider of intimately soul-sundering folk-pop — the very same she introduced fans to on her resplendent debut HAHAHHAHA. Her follow-up promises to be just as steeped in her knack for making life’s most turbulent moments into lyrical meditations.

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“It’ll Be (Video Game Song)” sees Juzang expanding her typically acoustic, at times dreamy sonics into something far more kinetic. But at its core, the song carries all the same raw, gushingly emotional energy that exists within all of her music. Against the rapid twittering of drums and synth tones, Juzang makes the hard decision to begin taking stock of a relationship that seems to have hit one too many roadblocks.

“And I know it’s just in my head / But I can’t seem to forget the shit you said,” she sings in a voice aglow. “It’s not like you’re innocent or forgiven / That’s not how we left it.” But such reevaluations are important if not a necessary part of any relationship — especially if you want to prevent a breakdown in communication.

The galloping earnestness of the melody that courses through “It’ll Be (Video Game Song)” aurally communicates that anxious urgency to either work through things or at the very least find some closure. But so does the interlude of dialogue that comes near the end of the song. Juzang never fails to find new ways to really puncture the heart with a bit of visceral realism — including a snippet of conversation between two lovers trying to hash out their dissatisfaction and struggling to articulate their frustrations.

Beautifully lilting and painfully forthright, it’s a song that’s emblematic of all the reasons her music is so captivating. “I got to play around with a lot of melodies and rhythms on this one,” Juzang said of the song. “Sonically, it’s a more experimental direction than I’ve ventured into before. My roommate also said it sounds like a video game, hence the title.”