By Kristen Hawley | 02 June, 2023
LO LA is no stranger to heartbreak. With tracks like “backseat” and “Thunderstorm,” it seems LO LA has felt every emotion that comes with the bleak side of a relationship. She isn’t afraid to share about how heartbreak eats away at her for a bit while she tries to fix the damage it caused. Unfortunately, it takes quite a long time and in between keeping busy, journaling, and crying – there are some lonely, long nights. Correction. There are a lot of lonely, long nights.
With her latest single, “SOBER” (out on June 2nd, 2023), she dances with the idea of self-medicating to alleviate her pain. Her relationship has fizzled out and she’s left wondering, “Now that you’re gone, how am I supposed to stay sober?”
It’s a pivotal question a lot of us are faced with whenever we feel such high intensity waves of emotional pain, heartache, and sadness; the immediate reaction is to find anything to drown out reality and there’s a strong pull to alleviate that pain through drinking. LO LA draws the correlation of not being sober as a method to connect closer with her past love. “Take another shot so I can feel you on my tongue/So intoxicated I can’t get out my lungs.”
“SOBER” seems to not only question how LO LA will navigate this post-breakup journey, but it also appears as a cautionary tale of replacing one drug with another. She sings “Tried love without you, kept crawling back/I hate to say you’re my other half/I can’t breathe without, I need your air.” Her lyrics detail going from being dependent on someone for love to then being dependent on a substance to get through it.
What I love so much about this track is how personal and intimate it feels. Not only do the lyrics feel like a private conversation you’d have with friends, but the production and beats also sound like a muted and trippy club track. It is reminiscent of being next door listening to a muffled noisy party, when you step outside to get some fresh air because your heart becomes so heavy and your mind is overwhelmed you can hear the echoes of your unburdened friends.
“SOBER” was written, recorded, and produced all by women. You can really feel the feminine touch with LO LA’s sultry delivery, especially on the verses. The bass quiets a bit during the verses to really allow LO LA to draw you into her storytelling. While the production sounds almost eerie, like a cautionary tale, it highlights the stone-cold emotions LO LA is crushed with.
We may never get LO LA’s answer to staying sober post-breakup, but we find comfort in knowing that it is a human impulse to want relief and questioning our own strength in getting through to the other side of heartbreak is inevitable. What LO LA does an amazing job with “SOBER” is creating a track that is universal in messaging, but intimate in delivery.
