(SOUTH AMBOY, NJ) -- The past year was a tough year for independent musicians. But with two releases under her belt for 2020 (January's "On the Move" and July's "Can't Quit You"), New Jersey based alt-pop songstress, Jackie June, isn't stopping there. 2021 is off to a great start for the singer-songwriter with her first new release of the year, pop-rock anthem, "Afterglow".
A co-write with Jimmy Meier of The Dives, and produced by Rob Freeman of Audio Pilot Studio, "Afterglow" shifts June into a darker place lyrically without losing the infectious pop melodies and messages of hope for which she's become known.
"Am I losing my mind? There's no fix I haven't tried. I refuse to lose existential battles with my shadow. As I begin to break, a light comes through the crack. Finally, I am free and I'm not going back"
On the song, June said, "Like most, during quarantine I couldn't help but feel like I was going crazy. I lost my day job, a bunch of shows, including a tour, were cancelled, and I was in a rough place emotionally. I found myself sitting alone in my house staring at pictures on the walls, banging piano keys that I just couldn't seem to get right, and not really motivated to do anything, let alone write new music."
"While these feelings were painful, and even uncomfortable at the time, they are actually what inspired me to write again when I didn't think I had it in me," continued June. "'Afterglow' is about how while we all went a little bananas during 2020, there's still, and always will be, a light at the end of the tunnel."