Vincent Haycock
Lila Drew describes herself as a "pop cynic who makes pop music," which neatly surmises the way the 22-year-old solo artist's big hooks and emotionally charged songs often feel as if they are being delivered with a wink. Drew's debut album All The Places I Could Be drops on Friday, November 11, and Drew is stoking anticipation by dropping "Used To," a song that softens its blows with an acknowledgement that sincerity can be cringeworthy. "Sorry for the lack or clarity," she sings as she lays her feelings about a relationship bare over sunny piano chords. "And rhyming schemes i made up." A video for the song is premiering below via The FADER.
Speaking to The FADER via email, Drew explained that,"Before writing 'Used To,' I felt like I was too afraid to say things I wanted to say out of fear of being perceived negatively or something. I had written this super long and heavy song the day before, and the first lines of that became the opening for Used To (“I don’t write like I used to, if I told you that I did then I was lying”). Sachi [DiSerafino, producer] and I were inspired by Jamiroquai and Natasha Bedingfield, who both soundtracked our childhoods, and wanted to take this somber song I’d written and make it a bit funny and sarcastic — a serious song trying not to take itself so seriously.”
The "Used To" video was directed by regular collaborator Vincent Haycock, who has created four visual accompaniments for the album. Taking influence from minimalist imagery, the new video cuts together scenes of wild abandon with others depicting a clay bust being created and then broken. Check it out below.