LA Music Review | Art, stories and advice
Cinematic, edgy, and full of fireworks!
Rising indie-pop artist Olivia Reid has released her latest single, “Wounds (Healing),” an introspective, ethereal reflection that sees the budding singer-songwriter questioning the layered, complex process of healing. The upbeat, airy track is a glimpse behind the curtain of Reid’s upcoming EP, chasing the release of her single “Runner’s High,” out two months ago.
Blending pop with soft electronic rhythms and the smoothness of jazzy elements, “Wounds (Healing)” is both gentle and lively, featuring a laid-back melody whose comforting stamp becomes a springboard for conversational curiosity and self-exploration. In the track, Olivia Reid explores her relationship with anxiety and painful memories: “I recognized how much I had to heal from, but simultaneously feared that truly healing it would leave an absence or a blankness in me,” Reid explains. “When I’m in fight or flight mode long enough, wounds in the form of anxiety or sadness can mistakenly feel like a crucial part of who I am. The wounds feel familiar, so starting the healing process made me feel so much weaker at first.”
The song uncovers the strange comfort that comes from romanticizing our own pain out of necessity and the puzzling grief that emerges when we eventually try to move forward. Reid finds herself at a moment of emotional turmoil, when the wounds are finally healing, she’s stuck questioning, ‘isn’t that what I should want?’
Contemplating the hardwork of a long-winding road of mending, the vulnerability that emerges from breaking down this internal struggle signals her perseverance to come to terms with her experiences, in a lifelong effort to find gentleness and empathy towards herself.
Wounds (Healing) was originally written on guitar, but Reid knew the production needed to somehow reflect the duality of it. So after an initial guitar demo, Reid teamed up with Jae Luna, who she collaborated with on 2019’s “What You Came Here For,” to add warm synth production and new wave percussion to the layered sound. Reid then explored organic sound design textures—citing a particular exploration of custom instruments from AURAS by sound design software company Slate + Ash. These AURAS – described by the creators as “formless and indefinable sound sculptures” – add a unique emotional tug to the pop track. Even still, the song was missing a key sound, leading Reid to recruit longtime collaborator Will Brown on saxophone. The result is a cinematic, explorative track committed to uncovering Reid’s inner world, in its messy, resolutely brave complexity.
How has this song helped in your
journey towards healing?
“Wounds (Healing)” is a puzzle piece in the New York-based singer-songwriter’s awakening, breaking down her most intricate feelings with the hindsight and maturity she gained through the years. “It’s a very introspective project, trying to describe how the journey to healing can feel so foreign and isolating, especially after traumatic experiences,” she comments.
“There’s this illusion that some emotions are arcane or inexplicable, but this project is the result of me trying desperately to break those layered emotions down, to truly dissect and unpack them, and turn them into a form a listener could feel.”
“Wounds (Healing)” is a reminder that you don’t have to carry the weight of the world around with you. It’s okay to start to let go and allow yourself to heal.
Olivia Reid’s production style lands listeners in a visceral sonic and emotional world, blending indie acoustics with exploratory electronic pop soundscapes where melancholy meets joy, and simple meets cinematic. Celebrating the complexity of her identity, her work draws inspiration from artists like Bon Iver, Norah Jones, Sylvan Esso, and Florence + The Machine – who have shaped her lyrical metaphors, eclectic musicality, stage presence, and, most notably, her love of sound design.
Much like her influences, Reid’s interests are diversified, spanning areas from screenwriting and neuroscience, to current events, the environment – she’s currently involved with Brian Eno’s charity EarthPercent – and podcasting – she formerly hosted Spotify For Artists and Notable’s Song Start podcast, interviewing artists like Sam Smith, Victoria Monet, Hayley Williams of Paramore.
As an avid collaborator, Olivia Reid has connected with global audiences through collaborations such as “Time is Mine” with Kidswaste and “Above the Clouds” with SŸDE. Her music has been featured in Wonderland, Flaunt Magazine, Ones to Watch, Brooklyn Vegan, The New Yorker, and American Songwriter and has been added to several official Apple Music playlists like Happy Hits, Virtual Hugs, and New Music Daily as well as official Spotify playlists like Happy Pop, Metropolis, Chill Tracks, Sunday Session, Dance Hits, and Golden Hour, garnering her over 50 million streams.
Start streaming “Wounds (Healing)” here:
