The latest release from Indonesian-American indie-pop artist Yana Rose, Miss My Flight is a heartfelt celebration of those moments when you are reminded of the joy and pressure that comes from the freedom of life.
Now based in Nashville, Miss My Flight is inspired by an evening Yana spent the night before she was set to relocate to her new home from LA, as she describes in her own words:
‘This song is based on my last night living in LA, before I moved to Nashville the next morning. I met up with a guy for the first time, and we hit it off way more than he or I were expecting. We spent the night talking about non-first date like things and exploring parts of LA I hadn't seen while living there. I mentioned I’d wanted to get a tattoo while I lived in LA, so we found a shop and both got tattoos. It was one of those surreal, dreamlike nights that made me want to abandon all my plans and stay.’
The production and instrumentation at play here is both understated and yet also shimmers with an excited sense of the possible, a remarkable sense of economy at play. Yana’s performance is gorgeous, the vocal positioned at the equivalent point of someone trying to run whilst looking like they are only walking… It’s emotional, yet trying to hold back, only further emphasising the earnest excitement and uncertainty at play. She really wants to leave, but boy, does she wish she didn’t.
I also love the oxymoron in the song’s central hook, as Yana coyly sings, ‘Now I need to casually miss my flight’. You know that there is nothing casual about missing a flight, and the fact she is on the brink of actively choosing to do so only further underlines that her emotions are far from casual.
Overall, Miss My Flight is a pretty perfect pop song. That aforementioned economy is on display in the overdubbing of Yana’s vocals, simple yet so effective. The whole thing comes together in the bridge that precedes the final chorus. The instrumentation drops out so that Yana can hit that line one last time, a small, knowing giggle in the background, betraying how ridiculous she knows the entire thing is.
Miss My Flight is a departure for Yana, as she shifts from her established sound of more melancholic tracks to something more playful and upbeat. She does so whilst retaining a strong sense of emotion and authenticity, and I can’t help but feel excited about what is to come.