Jesabel’s “Woman in the Woods” is not your standard empowerment single; the kind that gets slapped on a Spotify playlist called “Goddess Energy” and forgotten five minutes later. No, this one’s operating on a different register: it’s part mystical fairytale, part commentary on the nightmare we call society, and part proof that Jesabel would absolutely move into a moss-covered hut if given half the chance. Produced by multi-platinum wizard Zack Burke, the track feels like someone took folk-pop, wrapped it in incense smoke, and handed it to you with the seriousness of a tarot reading.
At the center of it all is Jesabel’s archetype: the titular “woman in the woods.” She’s not your Instagram wellness influencer flogging mushroom coffee; she’s the mirror, the guide, the torchbearer of truth. The kind of woman who doesn’t care about your botox subscription plan or the latest TikTok face filter because she’s too busy communing with the dirt under her fingernails. Naturally, this makes her terrifying to polite society, because nothing is scarier to us than a woman who refuses to play along.
And here’s where Jesabel makes it fun: she doesn’t present this figure as just a fantasy, but as essential. The woman in the woods isn’t waiting for your approval; she’ll burn the old system down while you’re still googling “what does shadow work mean?” The song doesn’t preach empowerment in the corporate sense, it reminds you that empowerment might mean dismantling the whole circus.
Sonically, it’s all exactly where it needs to be. Dreamy ambience swells underneath Jesabel’s vocals, which are clear, emotive, and not trying too hard; thank God. Too many songs about mystical femininity end up sounding like someone whispering affirmations over whale noises. Here, the arrangement has patience. It lets the silence carry weight. The whole thing moves like mist in a forest: you can’t grab it, but you’re inside it before you realize.
And mind you, Jesabel doesn’t just sing about this archetype. Rather, she lives it like a method actor with Wi-Fi. She decamped to Sintra, Portugal to record the visuals for this track, holed up in a literal cottage on a mountain like the protagonist of a gothic Instagram story. The video captures both the forest and her living inside it, blurring the line between documentary and fairytale. It’s not just aesthetic; it’s commitment.
The thing about Jesabel’s “Woman in the Woods” is that it resists being boxed in. It’s part folk, part pop, part ambient, and all intention. Jesabel’s not trying to give you genre; she’s giving you story. And that’s the appeal: she’s not just making singles, she’s making modern myths.
Ultimately, this track is proof that music doesn’t have to be disposable or algorithm-friendly to matter. It can still work as myth, ritual, or mirror. And Jesabel? She’s not just writing songs. She’s building storybooks, and if you’re not careful, you’ll find yourself wandering into the forest with her. Which, let’s be honest, is probably what she wanted all along.
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About the Author
A tenured media critic known working as a ghost writer, freelance critic for various publications around the world, the former lead writer of review blogspace Atop The Treehouse and content creator for Manila Bulletin.
