Irish alt-pop artist Ocean Tisdall has released the latest installment of his breakup series, “Jealous.”
The third and most emotionally charged or his breakup series, “Jealous” follows on from “Making It Easy,” and in contrast with the latter’s message that sometimes letting go is the best thing you can do, the former deals with the feeling when you simply don’t want to let someone who was yours move forward with someone else.
According to Ocean Tisdall: “I wrote Jealous in April this year up in Edinburgh with my friend and producer, Prentice. The song is about watching someone move on so easily after heartbreak – as if what you had meant nothing – while you’re left completely paralysed. It’s that feeling of seeing them eating, sleeping, and going out like normal, while you can’t even function, and realising how unaffected they are compared to you.”
“Jealous” starts up with soft piano before Ocean Tisdall’s soft vocals join in, while he sings “how do you do what you do?/you’re better than fine/God, I’m jealous of you”. It’s raw, angry, and strikingly bitter – but that doesn’t mean the song isn’t relatable, by any means. The emotion behind the vocals is used to great effect, helped by Ocean Tisdall’s unique vocal tone.
During the writing process Ocean Tisdall found himself comparing the feeling of missing someone with the story of Greyfriars Bobby, the dog who waited by his deceased owner’s grave every day for 14 years until his own death – shown in the lyrics “I was a dog on a leash/you know I would have stayed/stayed sat on your grave”. The feelings are intense, and at no moment shy away from that fact – especially not as Ocean Tisdall’s vocals get louder and stronger halfway through the track.
“Jealous” marks another track from Ocean Tisdall, who is making a name for himself as a particularly gifted emotive storyteller.