Late July is the orchestral bedroom pop name of singer-songwriter Nicole Simone. Forming her bi-coastal sound between Canada and Los Angeles, her spectral approach to songwriting and producing with her evocative vocal styles has drawn comparisons to St. Vincent, Lana Del Rey, Beirut and Phoebe Bridgers.
Sobriety. A word dreaded by some, ignored by many, sought-after by a few, and achieved -sadly- by fewer still. What sobriety implies is being in control of one's own faculties and behavior. To those who have suffered under the yoke of addiction, Sobriety means freedom, and to those who have suffered with an addict, it means a great relief. singer-songwriter Nicole Simone, AKA "Late July" wrote "Sober" from the point of view of her lived experience next to someone suffering from substance abuse/addiction, and she openly reflects on an emotion I think a lot of people have found themselves experiencing time and time again. "I wrote sober while watching an ex publicly announce that he was quitting drinking." she says "A week later he very publicly failed and I was so disappointed." In a place between Hope, anger, frustration, sadness, and disappointment, you will find the emotional payload of "Sober" primed to go off. "all you can do is hope for the best but prepare for the worst." says Simone, painting a stark image to those who've never witnessed anything like what she has. The frustrating struggle of seeing your loved one so close yet so far from being free of the dead weight of their problem, and feeling like there's simply nothing you can do to help them out as they put even your love for them to the test with each new low. Though emotionally and lyrically heavy, Late July chose the route of bittersweetness, by leaning on soaring, uplifting synths that hint at the undying optimism and hope it takes to live through someone else's slow-motion downfall. The 80s-inspired sound of "Sober" sinks in a luxuriant and familiar -yet fairly unique- vibe that I think capitalizes on the nostalgia factor of the sound to hint at some level of naivete; the same kind of naivete that I think everyone experiences as they willfully buy into the first few times their loved ones fail at sobriety until you realize their promises are not the kind that can easily be kept.
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