Tucker Nichol - Too Close To Home (Album)
Miss Tennessee USA is here to to make sure her pain throughout her music hits a little too close to home. It’s always beautiful when an artists is able to dig deep to craft some of the most introspective music & on their debut no less. On the albums title track, she eases us into the raw emotions we’re about to experience in this EMJ (emotional musical journey) her debut is to be. Isn’t it funny how, especially in those beginning stages of a relationship, the red flags are there but it’s so close to our faces that, at least until something pulls it all back, we can’t see them & even if we do, the feeling this person gives us is too good so we choose to ignore it.
Things get “tragic” when later on down the road, those same flags just keep presenting themselves & eventually, one or the other gets tired & decides to walk away, for the betterment of their own mental health & emotional safety. Arguing can be healthy but it can also be very toxic if all your partner is doing is just picking fights with you with no resolve after the fact. It can leave the person on the receiving end of this emotional abuse confused, sometime the person starting the fights just wants to get that emotional reaction out of you to see if you still care & it usually only gets worse when you give in & let them win cause now they can see what you’re willing to put up with & will only continue to push it even further. At that point, even if you love that person dearly, as tragic as it may be, it’s safer to walk away from that situation if possible cause that trauma bond can be like a vice grip sometimes.
It can be exhausting having to keep up with the many different versions someone has to offer, you never know what side of them you’ll get at any given second cause it’s forever changing. This will send anyone “over the edge” as they desperately do everything they can to not send their partner flying off the handle & after a certain interval of time dealing with that, that person should be grateful she’s even explaining to them that “this is why” she had to leave cause she don’t owe you nothing. It’s funny how the flying monkeys have a way of swinging their way towards you after a break up, just to inform you about what your past lover is up to, as if it’s any of your business. It’s like, stay “away from me”, as far away as humanly possible. Sometimes distance is necessary & it doesn’t necessarily make that person an avoidant, she’s just drained at this point so what is the point in trying to get through to you? She can’t keep explaining herself.
Expectations can be a great thing but they can also be a silent killer. It’s best to not have unrealistic expectations you know are too high for your partner to reach, maybe they don’t have the emotional capacity to do so & it’s best we at least be patient with them as they figure it out. It “must be nice” though, being too selfish to consider your partner’s well being. She would love to be there for you & for the most part, it sounds like she has but she has her own life to juggle, her own self to take care of so she can’t always be on call. At this juncture in the dynamic, she’s like “nah”, I’m no longer sacrificing my own sanity to appease to yours, you’re not gonna keep putting me through this emotional hellhole you keep yourself stuck in. Overall, it’s a powerful debut, a concept album if you will & one that’ll hit anyone right where they live.