Photo by Merci Bonsoir
From her new LP, Take the Case of a Rose, Montreal-based Shaina Hayes returns to us with “Steady.”
We’ve already featured a number of singles from this record, and we are pleased to inform you that “Steady” stands out as a piano-driven ballad amidst a collection of dynamic tunes that beg for the album to be heard in its entirety. For the first half of the track, the arrangement is stripped back to just the piano and a restrained vocal performance, raw enough to sound as though Hayes is delivering a private concert in your living room.
By the song’s midpoint, ethereal layers of otherworldly ambience begin to fill in the cracks of the barebones production, with the occasional subtle vocal layer rising to the surface. On the second refrain, Hayes has laid down a harmony across the top, which foreshadows the arrival of the wide-reaching orchestra that pulls “Steady” into the peak of its crescendo.
The song’s lyrics examine the tension between the loneliness of living solely for ourselves and the emptiness that can come from making our entire existence about fulfilling someone else's needs. “Steady” serves as a gentle reminder that our worth isn't measured by how much we give to others or how well we navigate life's uncertainties. As Hayes repeats, "You're already worth all the light you emit," the most important thing we can learn is to recognize that value in ourselves.