Columbia Records NY/Sony Music Nashville artist-songwriter Alana Springsteen admits that she’s ‘Messing It Up’ in the highly awaited first instalment of her three-part debut album ‘TWENTY SOMETHING.’ Available now across all streaming platforms and digital retailers.
‘Messing It Up’ makes for an irresistible opening chapter to TWENTY SOMETHING’s intimate and gorgeously crafted narrative: an in-depth autobiographical account of the nonstop emotional whirlwind of life in your 20s. Getting fearlessly real about the mistakes and misadventures of early adulthood over the course of six powerhouse songs, the landmark project showcases the true-to-life storytelling that’s made the 22-year-old Virginia Beach, VA, native one of her generation’s most magnetic songwriters.
“TWENTY SOMETHING: Messing It Up picks up where ‘HISTORY OF BREAKING UP (PART TWO)’ left off,” explains Springsteen, referring to her widely praised 2022 EP. “Sometimes you have to get it wrong in order to figure out how to get it right. We make mistakes. We’re not perfect. And that’s okay. So far, I’ve messed it up most when it comes to matters of the heart: picking the wrong guys, falling in love for the wrong reasons, not trusting my gut, and being generally unaware of my self-sabotaging tendencies. All of it because I hadn’t taken the time to truly get to know myself. These songs dig into the hardships I’ve experienced being twenty something so far and some of my missteps along the way.”
A prime example of ‘Messing It Up’’s emotional complexity is ‘goodbye looks good on you’ which features Springsteen’s former tourmate Mitchell Tenpenny, as it serves up an unexpected twist on the classic breakup song.
Directed by David Bradley and Springsteen, the adjoining music video for “goodbye looks good on you” closely captures Springsteen and Tenpenny as they each cope with the aftermath of a brutal split. Inspired by a real-life experience where Springsteen broke up with an ex just before walking onstage, the visual follows the two musicians from their separate studios to the outside world, both fully embodying the song’s unbridled emotion.
A testament to the extraordinary depth of Springsteen’s songwriting, ‘Messing It Up ‘encompasses everything from the exhilarating triumph of lead release ‘you don’t deserve a country song’ to the crushing desperation of follow-up track ‘shoulder to cry on’ (a beautifully raw steel guitar-laced ballad co-written with the likes of multi-Grammy Award-winning hitmaker Liz Rose). But whether she’s expressing fiery defiance or devastating heartache, Springsteen graces every song with her impossibly catchy melodies and warm but powerful vocal work, bringing an undeniable radiance to even the most painful moments.
We recently interviewed Alana Springsteen at the C2C festival in London and you can read our interview with her right here.
