“So Hard to Tell”

“So Hard to Tell,” the lead single from Debby Friday’s forthcoming debut, Good Luck, opens with a sly smokescreen. At first, it adopts the hardened, sinister pose of the Toronto artist’s usual steely electronics, unleashing a mangled industrial synth and defensive warning: “They want to hurt you!” But it soon explodes into softness, like feathers erupting from a pillow. Friday pares back, leaving her falsetto unaltered by her usual vocal modulations. She wants to be the unflappable party girl, but her raw emotions prove too overwhelming: “Is this heaven or hell?” she sings, delivering an aching cry of inner turmoil. In contrast to the pulse-quickening tempos and noisy synths of her past music, her production is deft and graceful, with a skipping beat and cascading backing vocals. “Lady Friday/All you do is rеbel,” Friday chastises herself—tough talk against a fragile, gorgeous sound.