The fact that Elea Calvet describes this song as perhaps the most heart-wrenchingly brutal song on the album speaks volumes. Why? Because this is an album woven from heartache and reflection, reminiscence and regret, and so to reach a point that the artist herself regards as the pinnacle (perhaps depth is a better word) of those sentiments, warns the listener to proceed cautiously.
But the great skill that Elea possesses is the ability to weave all these dark thoughts and soul-searching into something that is still accessible as a piece of music. And so it is here; there is nothing miserable or maudlin about “Bad Joke”, just a melancholic waltz through those regrets as ghost choirs and funereal beats, brooding bass lines, and three-four sonics spiral through and spirit her on.
It is easy to write songs that sink into despair, and it is harder to turn those disappointments and deceits into something creatively beautiful, but that is exactly what is happening. And as the waltz heads into epic territory, driven on by banks of strings that sweep and swoon appropriately, she resolves never to fall for the same tricks and traps of love and longing and loss again, as her heart breaks and her voice punctuates the sky, we all realize that it is a dance whose steps we are, sadly, all too familiar with.
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