Heather Maine is the nom de plume of Olivia Regueira Garcia, a singer-songwriter and producer based in Sydney, Australia, and her new single ‘Dumb’ is an effervescent indie pop treat. While a current of melancholia haunts the delivery, there is a sunshine veneer filled with gorgeous layers of instrumentation – with some unexpected intrusions – and a sky-high chorus and indelible melodies throughout.
Maine says of the track:
‘Dumb’ was inspired by a range of situations where I found myself feeling really stupid after expressing my feelings to people. Throughout the song I’m also calling myself dumb because I recurrently allowed myself to be in those situations. I don’t blame that gaslighting on myself but I think after a series of patterns I felt like I had to bag myself out a little bit.
There is a element of self-deprecatory humour, accentuated by the pop exclamations of ‘Yeah’ that delightfully and playfully punctuate the song:
The song is set up in a kind of ironic and playful way that imitates the cheering “yeah’s!” that you might hear in a gloriously cheesy pop song. I’ve always wanted to write a song that has those fun and repetitive yells in a feel-good chorus whilst I’m singing about something pretty upsetting.
This sets up an enticing tension between the lyrics and the delivery. This is a song of substance and stature hiding in a Day-Glo bubblegum attire:
You can download and stream ‘Dumb’ through all the usual sites including the link above and here.
Singing and writing music from a very young age, Heather Maine attended the prestigious Newtown High School of the Performing Arts and involved herself in countless music ensembles, vocal quartets, choirs, and theatre productions. She later went on to study a Bachelor of Music Studies in Contemporary Music at Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Focusing on songwriting and production, she worked on her own solo project in her home studio.
One thing is for sure: there is a lot to look forward to from this artist.
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