Wanna be comfy, colourful and feel your feelings? Welcome to sweatercore and more specifically to the experimental, new generation sound of Lane Lines‘ ‘Like To Look Sad’. We love how Seattle-based artist Mandi L. Kimes has formulated their own genre to suit their unique and boundary-bending sound. Really all these labels are just guidelines, not the be all and end all, but when they can be transformed into something more meaningful when musicians take ownership of them.
For Lane Lines, finding an niche through which to express lyrics that navigate trauma, loss, love and destigmatizing mental health struggles, as well as providing her listeners a space through which they can process their own experiences was most important. And so, with 2023, this North-West American creative has beckoned in the Year of the Sad via this appropriately titled first single.
‘Like to Look Sad‘ really encapsulates everything that this project was inspired by; daydreaming, the subconscious, the line in between sleep and wake. As you’ll hear, it’s a gorgeously dizzying array of mosaic-like elements, like the electronic beeps, vocal clips and scaling synth keys. The other major piece of this alt-pop puzzle are the layered vocals, which are constructed into a hypnotizing chant.
This song is all about creating community around the individual struggle, in keeping with Lane Lines‘ ethos, “When we realize we’re not alone, we finally find validation. I want folks to know they’re heard in their own individual struggles.”
You can find ‘Like to Look Sad‘ in our Shades of Pop and Outsiders Club playlists.
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