Exploiting a hesitant rhythm to make the tension in her lyrics all the more tangible to listeners, it’s obvious from the jump that Psyclo has a specific goal with her new single “I’m Not Lovesick,” and pushing us onto the dancefloor is not it. She’s playing with cerebral componentry in this track, rejecting the popular model for surreal pop in favor of something slightly more gothic, and showing us a more reserved and tempting side of her personality that might not have been as evident in a more streamlined piece of material. It’s a gamble, but “I’m Not Lovesick” is undeniably unique.
Breaking down the instrumentation to its nuts and bolts reveals a very cut and dry melodic scheme in this single, but I wouldn’t say it’s a piece of minimalist pop. Contrarily, the clean chords and anti-synthetic harmonies draw dark emotional subtext from the lyrics, allowing for the ache in our singer’s voice to sound all the more wrenching than it already would have. She’s got something she wants to get off of her chest at the mic, but it is only through careful, clandestine contextualization of her words via the music that we’re able to really appreciate the depth of her statements.
A breathy vocal can do a lot to shape the personality of a lyric, but the sense of yearning that accompanies every word this singer/songwriter presents us with can’t be sourced from the tone of her crooning alone. The moodiness of “I’m Not Lovesick” starts and ends with the shy manner in which Psyclo is approaching the harmonies, relying on the rhythm of the other instruments to give her a proper nudge towards the climax in the chorus.
Psyclo’s lead vocal reflects a deeper fragility in “I’m Not Lovesick” that a lot of indie singer/songwriters aren’t prepared to reveal at this stage of their career, but she doesn’t seem unwilling to bear everything to us in this performance at all. If anything, she wants to be exposed before the audience, and any hesitance we pick up is a product of the way the harmonies are arranged as if to contrast with the potency of her voice as it stands on its own. This is elite craftsmanship, and there’s no getting around the skill it took to make this song right.
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“I’m Not Lovesick” is another dexterous effort from Psyclo and probably the most experimental look she’s gone with to date, and if it’s giving us a glimpse into what her upcoming work is going to sound like in 2022, I welcome the next wave of content she’s cultivating right now. The most spellbinding artists in indie pop are always pushing the boundaries, and it’s to this end that I think someone of Psyclo’s obvious talent is going to be a juggernaut next to the competition she’s facing at the moment. This is a fantastic presentation of her sound and something I recommend discerning music fans examine sooner than later.
Garth Thomas