Each Measure Feature: Jocelyn
FEATURE
One of the strangest paradoxes of human nature is its admiration for sad music. People love songs that poke at sore spots and make them cry. They make us feel less alone, and turning misery into music is often part of the healing process.
Of course, it’s rare to find a songwriter that actually manages to tap into genuine pain – too many fall back on maudlin cliches. But with her recent single, “This is Me…”, Jocelyn proves herself a rare exception. She makes the brave decision to put some of her deepest insecurities on display for all to see, and the result is a melancholy but strangely empowering anthem to self-criticism.
The Sarnia, Canada-based up-and-comer released “This is Me…” on July 3rd, 2025. It’s a track that explores some heavy emotions – shame, self-doubt, and self-disgust – but in giving vent to these emotions, it seizes some power over them. In other words, it does exactly what great music is supposed to do: create a sense of kinship and validation around intensely human experiences.
Jocelyn’s power comes from her vulnerability. According to the 23-year-old singer-songwriter, the track was inspired by her own experiences with body dysmorphia. Evocative lines like “I don’t know if people are lying to my face / My reflection tells me I’m a disgrace” make the depth of these experiences abundantly clear and will feel familiar to anyone who shares Jocelyn’s struggles.
Both the composition and recording reflect intimacy and simplicity. Jocelyn created the entire track by herself. She describes her recording set-up as “just an iPhone, interface, and condenser mic…with vocals recorded in a single take.” There’s nothing overblown about the track. It’s just a piano, a quiet string section, and Jocelyn’s incredibly powerful voice. It’s honest and straightforward.
Jocelyn pairs her introspective lyrics with an instrumental landscape that gradually mounts in tension, portraying a downward spiral into shame as each verse takes a deeper and deeper into a wounded psyche. But in the end, as Jocelyn’s voice swells for a final chorus, there’s a sense of comfort and catharsis, as if speaking these feelings into being might make them easier to overcome, both for the singer and for her audience.
What I hear in this track is a form of confessional. It’s a way of processing an all too familiar pain that often goes unspoken until it becomes overwhelming. Jocelyn has the voice of someone who has seen darkness and come out the other side, and her key virtue is bravery, so if you’re looking for songwriters that aren’t afraid to go there (wherever that might be), count Jocelyn among them.
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