Behind The Tracks: The Ones You Forgot - Desensitized (Single) (2021)

Jenna: After Ferd had sent a preview of ‘Desensitized’ to our group chat, I begged him to send the whole thing. It was 2019 and we were ready to get back into the studio now that our last EP Too Afraid To Say had been out for a few months. When Ferd sent me the file, I immediately sat down and began dabbling with melodies, trying to pick a theme from the mood I was feeling as I listened. I actually never ended up formally picking a theme because the lyrics just started flowing naturally. It wasn’t until I looked down at the paper and read the lyrics in full when I began to understand what I had written.

I felt like I was pretending to be okay, when in reality I was feeling so overwhelmed to the point of numbness. I just effortlessly spilled out all these words of struggle, and they made me realize that I needed to address the state of my mental health. Writing lyrics never come that smoothly to me, so I knew they were genuine. When the studio came around, I made a couple adjustments so they could be understood a little more clearly and fit the melody better, but overall this is straight from my subconscious.

One of the main ways we wanted to represent that numbness was through hypnotism. We used pocket watches, tv static and swirls in the music video to show it. I think it was perfectly captured, especially in the shots where I am sitting in front of the tv. We also focused on the color blue. It seemed to be very fitting and it’s also a color that we have been branded with in the past, especially on our last EP. Seeing the video come to life made the song feel even stronger than I originally imagined.

I hope that ‘Desensitized’ can help someone feel a little less alone. It’s okay to struggle and it’s okay to ask for help. I’m thankful that this song became an outlet for me to do so, even if it required me to travel through the darkness.