"Sentimentality" by So, Reverie
They've done it again. Andy Power and Cain Garcia of So, Reverie have crafted a catchy power pop tune equal parts happy, sad and dreamy in "Sentimentality".
"I guess you could say "Sentimentality" is a track which touches on the theme of unrequited love and heartbreak which is something many of us have experienced at some point," explained Andy.
I caught up with Andy briefly about the new single and how So, Reverie's live shows have been going since forming in 2023. Andy also surprised me with a little detail that fans of Avalyn, Andy's previous band, might be interested in. Read on and watch the video for "Sentimentality" below.
Did you have someone or some scenario in mind when you wrote the lyrics? How did the song develop– music first or lyrics first?
I guess you could say "Sentimentality" is a track which touches on the theme of unrequited love and heartbreak which is something many of us have experienced at some point. To be more specific on this track, I was mainly trying to express the sudden realisation that someone no longer feels the same way as you do and I guess the song describes that feeling in a melancholic way.
I had the skeleton of this song written for a while with the vocal melody and guitars but the lyrics came to me towards the end of the summer around the time Avalyn had ended and I was starting So, Reverie up with Cain. The music came first on this one and I really felt like there was a lot of emotion in the track even just musically so I needed to make sure that the lyrics matched perfectly to fit the feel of the track which is why there was a delay between writing the melody and getting the inspiration for the lyrics. Once I had the song skeleton ready I brought it to Cain and it became what it is today, it’s definitely one of the things I am most proud of ever writing.
You craft great pop songs that have a streak of sadness or lament tucked away in them– would that be fair to say?
Definitely, that probably sums up what I love about music the most which is what I try to convey in a lot of my songwriting. My favourite bands have always been groups like The Smiths, The Cure, Ride and many others that channel that whole kind of mood. I feel as though it sets us apart from a lot of the other so-called post-punk groups around in the scene that mainly touch on political issues and social commentary which obviously has its place and is incredibly important, however, what personally touches me in music and writing is talking about our emotions and being introspective with it.
How would you like listeners to engage with So, Reverie or this new track?
Of course I would love it if people are into the track, however, I know that it’s very difficult to win people over nowadays with there being so much music out there. All I can say is I hope people enjoy it and that they enjoy the music video and that if they like it they show it to their mates. If the song can move even just one person then I think writing and releasing it has all been worthwhile.
How have your live shows been going? You’ve played a few, right?
We’ve played a lot since we last spoke! It has been a great couple of months for us, we’ve mainly been focusing on developing the band’s sound and we have nearly finished recording our debut EP which people will get to hear later this year. We’ve definitely been putting in all of the legwork over the past few months so hopefully from the release of "Sentimentality" and onwards they’ll be a lot of stuff for people to get their teeth into!
What do you think (or see) your fans respond to most when you perform? Is there a certain song or sound or something that creates an atmosphere that you really enjoy?
I would say that what people enjoy the most probably would be the song we always play last called "Separate Minds". It’s an upbeat, heavy and moody sounding song with a huge riff inspired by Echo & The Bunnymen with some shoegaze influence. For some reason it always seems to get the best response live because I feel like when we perform it it’s always a climax of all the energy built throughout our live show. So it always feels like we end it off on a high!
Personally, I’m really looking forward to playing a song we have called "Sea Change" at our upcoming shows, it’s got a good mix of melancholy and emotion as well being high tempo live! It’s a song I wrote which we used to play in Avalyn which we’ve reworked into this band, I’m really looking forward to recording it with Cain in the near future!
"Sea Change" - I love that song!!!
Yes we are so excited to play it again, we re-worked it for this band and honestly it sounds better than the original! Since the song was originally recorded I’ve had singing lessons which has helped improve the way the song sounds.
BETTER THAN THE ORIGINAL???
cannot.wait.
In the meantime, you can hear the old "Sea Change" by Avalyn in episode 8 of _____ mood.
Also, links to stream So, Reverie here, plus follow Andy and Cain on Instagram to hear about upcoming shows and that forthcoming EP!