With his debut EP imminently ready to be unleashed to the world, Nick Ward is giving listeners one final single which rounds out the exploration of his sexuality and his coming out experience. The title ‘Holding The Man’ pays homage to the Aussie memoir that changed his life, while the lyrics dive into the expectations that society has for him intertwined with the unique feeling of coming out.
Opening with the social pre-tense we are raised on, he imagines a life where he just replicates his father’s experience instead of following his own unique path. “I’ll get married when I’m 30, maybe even 32. Got my own place, have a kid or two, picket fence, swimming pool. Baby I’m the man” he details. As he glides into the second verse he then recounts his coming out experience and the feeling that occurred when it happened, which is a really interesting angle to hone in on as that element is usually glanced over. “I came out in my best friends car, and now I’m weightless, lifting off the ground. I never thought that it would change shit”.
The contrasting angles of the experience are then fused together with the chorus lines; “Please just hold me down, so my feet don’t leave the ground” and “You’ve never known as much about me as you do right now” which really capture the intimacy of the matter.
To match the vulnerable nature of the song, the production is light, stripped back and dreamy. Falling somewhere between Bon Iver, Sufjan Stevens, Cub Sport and Sasha Sloan, this song feels candid and confessional throughout its full three minute duration. Layered with backing vocals by Chris Lanzon, the production that Golden Vessel and Nick Ward have harboured almost feels ethereal and heavenly, which is yet another contrast to the songs lyrics.
Ward has confessed that this is his favourite single he’s released so far, and it may just be mine too.