Joshua Bassett’s “Sad Songs In A Hotel Room”
Joshua Bassett’s newest EP, “Sad Songs In A Hotel Room,” is a beautiful mix of 6 sad songs about relationships, family, and life. The topics of every song have deeper meanings while some maintain an upbeat and happy sounding tone.
My personal favorite song on the EP is “Used To It.” This song is about continuously being let down by your partner. Bassett’s parter kept letting him down, but because it happened so often he “got used to it.” He brings up certain instances where he isn’t even surprised that his partner isn’t there for him. Bassett writes how he did keep letting them back into his life although he knew it would hurt him. He becomes numb to the pain because it was so normal and because he loved them. The bridge of the song shows a reflection of these thoughts:
“Tommy asked why I’m not mad
But you’re the only love I’ve had
And I won’t say what I can’t take back, no
You did things I can’t forgive
And mercy don’t always make sense
And I’m the one who let you in again
I can’t be mad
I let you treat me like that
I guess I got used to it”
My close second favorite song here is “All In Due Time.” It’s the last song on the EP and is the perfect closing saying that everything will get better in the end. He recognizes how although things can feel hard in the moment, you really have to be patient and try to find the light at the end of the tunnel. I believe that the chorus of the song perfectly encapsulates the hope that we all need a reminder of during hard times:
“Well, maybe someday it’ll all fade away
And the weight of the world won’t be mine
And maybe I’ll say at the end of the day
Who I am made it all worth the while
And these scars’ll be stories I tell
All in due time”
The two fan favorites (most popular songs) on this EP are “Smoke Slow” and “Lifeline.” “Smoke Slow” was released as a single before the whole EP came out which makes sense as it has millions more plays on Spotify compared to the other songs. The second most popular, “Lifeline” is by far the next most popular song.
“Smoke Slow” is about a partner who is so addictive and you can’t get yourself to stay away from them. The catch is that they already have someone to go home to. Bassett writes about the struggles of staying away from this person while savoring all of the time he can get with them. In the music video linked HERE you can see this whole story play out.
“Lifeline” is a love letter to Bassett’s mother. He writes about how when he almost died, she was the first person he wanted to talk to and within an hour of her finding out how sick he was, she got on a plane directly to him. The song is about how could not get through this extremely difficult part of his life without her. It’s about expressing his gratefulness to his mother for being one of the most important people in his life, for being his lifeline.
This EP has a beautiful mix of songs for many different experiences. One of my favorite things about Joshua Bassett’s music is that he writes about everything that is hard to talk about while being so real. He tells stories about difficult parts of his life including nearing death and heartbreak and turns it into art that can relate to so many people. I highly recommend this whole EP and you can find a link to a YouTube playlist of all the songs HERE.
