Released: 22nd September 2003
Writers: Michelle Branch / John Shanks
Peak position: N/A
Chart run: N/A
Billboard Hot 100 chart run: 63-57-56-52-41-36-39-45-50-54-58-63-79-80-86-91-92-94
Michelle Branch’s second album was a blink-and-miss-it moment in the UK, with promotion curtailed after one single. However, things fared (slightly) better in America, where the campaign continued long enough for Breathe to become a much-deserved hit.
It’s probably fair to say that Michelle Branch falls into the category of artists whose second album proved particularly difficult. The slow-burn success of 2001’s The Spirit Room – which spent more than a year in the top 100 and sold two million copies despite never peaking higher than #28 – would always be difficult (if not impossible) to replicate. Whatever followed came with a higher profile and commercial expectation than before. Yet, Michelle Branch’s second album, Hotel Paper – released less than two years later – maintained a similar formula to her debut, comprising self-written material and collaborations with John Shanks. It was an immediate hit in America, debuting at #2, although the lead single – Are You Happy Now? – did seem to divide opinion somewhat with a slightly darker, angrier tone. Nonetheless, the track reached #16 on the Billboard Hot 100. Meanwhile, in the UK, where Michelle Branch had never enjoyed quite the same level of exposure, Hotel Paper debuted at #35 (which still marked an improvement on the #54 peak of The Spirit Room), while Are You Happy Now? reached #31.
As far as the UK is concerned, that’s where the campaign ended. No further singles were released, and it’s entirely possible that Michelle Branch’s comeback passed some people by entirely. Thus, the focus understandably shifted to America, where Hotel Paper was drifting down the chart and perhaps causing some consternation to Maverick Records that it might lack the staying power of its predecessor. Picking Breathe as the second single could be seen as a cynical move because it’s easily one of the more radio-friendly tracks on Hotel Paper, particularly compared to Are You Happy Now? Indeed, it’s not hard to imagine an album full of material like this is precisely what the label might’ve preferred after The Spirit Room. Michelle Branch wasn’t so enthused about it at the time, though. She’s spoken about this being a song that – in her words – she despised playing live. Thus, it’s probably safe to assume there were more appealing alternatives she’d have preferred to release and promote. Nonetheless, Breathe is a great track that jumps out as a very obvious, mainstream single primed to give Hotel Paper a second hit and extend its chart presence.
A strummed guitar riff opens the track, setting the tempo for the first verse. Breathe is written – musically and lyrically – with an engaging sense of storytelling: “I’ve been driving for an hour, just talking to the rain, you say I’ve been driving you crazy, and it’s keeping you away” that is filled with mood and emotion. As additional melodies are layered in the production, the intention of Breathe becomes more resolved: “So just give me one good reason, tell me why I should stay, ‘cos I don’t wanna waste another moment, saying things we never meant to say”. Though the instrumentation builds to become more involved, the song retains a thoughtfully contemplative edge (“Well, it’s all so overrated, in not saying how you feel, so you end up watching chances fade, and wondering what’s real…”) that Michelle Branch and John Shanks had honed so well on The Spirit Room. Breathe is sincere and personal but never becomes so specific that the listener can’t relate it to their own experience.
The pay-off of the verses is a hook-laden, sun-drenched pop-rock chorus: “If I just bre-e-e-eathe, let it fill the space between, I’ll know, everything is alright; bre-e-e-eathe, every little piece of me, you’ll see, everything is alright, If I just bre-e-e-eathe” that is filled with rousing self-affirmation. It’s arguably the best example on Hotel Paper of a song that takes the elements established on The Spirit Room and grows them into something bigger and shinier. Nowhere is that more effectively conveyed than the final chorus, which delivers a triumphant, feelgood crescendo from Michelle Branch: “Everything is alri-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-ight, yeah yeah. Everything is alright if I just bre-e-e-e-athe…bre-e-e-e-athe”. There’s a cathartic relief in her voice that sells the moment so well, showcasing all the relatable, conflicting emotions that helped her material resonate so strongly.
Vocally, Breathe is immensely well performed by Michelle Branch. There aren’t necessarily any surprises in her range and power, but the song uses both well. The pre-chorus: “And I-I-I-I, take it just a little bit, I-I-I-I, hold my breath and count to ten” switches between sustained notes and sweetly half-spoken lines faintly cracked with a confident swagger. Meanwhile, during the middle eight – where the beat drops out, and the production is stripped back to acoustic guitar chords – Michelle Branch’s voice tenderly swells with haunting desperation: “Bre-e-e-eathe, so I whisper in the dark, hoping you’ll hee-e-e-ear me, do you hee-e-e-ear me” and vocal runs that fill the track without being oversung. The bigger moments of Breathe are inevitably the ones that stand out the most – and they are great – but the quality of everything in between gives the track such character.
Simmering in the background of Hotel Paper was a tension between Michelle Branch and Maverick Records that arose after the label’s parent company – Warner Music Group – underwent a significant restructuring. Consequently, a series of executives were brought in, each with their own ideas for how best to market and manage her career. That’s evident in aspects of Breathe because, unlike previous singles, the track was widely remixed. There are some worthy interpretations from Chris Cox, Hi-Bias, Dave Hernandez and Passengerz, but their existence marks a change in the audience Michelle Branch’s material was indirectly targeting. The same was almost true of the music video as well. Initially, the plan was for Breathe to be accompanied by a more provocatively styled Michelle Branch, wearing a bustier and performing a choreographed dance routine. She put her foot down and refused – but not without some pushback – until the idea was abandoned and a new concept was created.
The revised video treatment instead opens in more familiar territory with Michelle Branch and her band performing the song. They’re in a dimly lit room, and for the duration of the first verse, there’s nothing out of the ordinary other than a few crustaceans scuttling over the surfaces (which, in early ‘00s pop music terms, barely passes for unusual). However, as the chorus starts, rays of sunlight burst through the ceiling and walls, causing them – and the room’s contents – to begin disintegrating. The remnants of the structure cause Michelle Branch to be bathed in vivid oranges and yellows, with lens flare further emphasising the sun-drenched visual contrast. A seagull peers inquisitively through one of the holes in the roof just before the arrival of the second chorus, which is accompanied by a wave crashing through what’s left of the wall. The room falls apart, revealing that the entire sequence has taken place on a beach. Michelle Branch throws her guitar into the sea and continues to perform with the band on the shoreline.
Considering the video for Breathe got off to such a discordant start, what was created never comes across as a compromise. Despite the relative simplicity with which Breathe comes across, much technical work – and budget – has gone into it, particularly in how the room and its contents disintegrate. The way the sets are used with the lighting is incredibly effective; it ends up giving the track an energy that is both natural and ethereal. These aren’t necessarily images that Breathe conjures up musically from its lyrics, but once set to the visuals, it works so well as a package. Indeed, it doesn’t require a choreographed dance routine or any of the other ideas that were initially proposed.
Breathe was heavily promoted and became a modest hit in America, reaching #36 on the Billboard Hot 100. However, that also made it Michelle Branch’s lowest-peaking single so far. The track didn’t propel Hotel Paper back up the chart – as might have been the hope – but it steadied the album’s descent. Despite a much stronger start, it appeared the longer-term success of the campaign would once again rely on the same slow-burn strategy that worked before. And there was potential for it to happen with the right singles. Breathe might’ve underperformed, but the song featured in season six of Sex and the City, as well as movie trailers for 13 Going On 30, The Prince & Me, and P.S. I Love You. Thus, Michelle Branch’s music still clearly held commercial appeal. However, any momentum from Breathe fizzled out when ‘Til I Get Over You received a limited release as the final single from Hotel Paper without a music video and – unsurprisingly – failed to chart.
Despite record label interference (or, in some cases, inaction) being a significant factor in the perceived shortcomings of Hotel Paper, things only got worse. Michelle Branch began a decade-long stalemate with Warner Music Group over the direction she should pursue. There was a diversion along the way as she teamed up with Jessica Harp to form The Wreckers – a country music duo – in the mid-’00s. However, from a solo perspective, Michelle Branch could never develop material that satisfied the label (two albums were recorded and shelved). It wasn’t until 2014 that she finally regained creative freedom after being let out of the contract. The irony is that if Warner had just gotten behind Hotel Paper in the first place rather than becoming so preoccupied with what other acts were doing, they might well have found any evolution required to maintain Michelle Branch’s popularity had already occurred and just needed supporting in a more logical, rational way.
It is a shame Breathe wasn’t released in the UK. Realistically, though, it wouldn’t have significantly changed the trajectory of Michelle Branch’s career – even if it had been a surprise hit – because of the underlying record label issues. Nonetheless, it’s a great track with a terrifically creative video that deserves to be more widely known and appreciated.
