Everything, Give Or Take

Margaret Glaspy “Heartbreak”

Margaret Glaspy has a warm and expressive voice, a high level of songwriting craft, and writes thoughtful lyrics about the intricacies of mature adult relationships. These are all incredible strengths from my perspective, but I don’t think they do much to win over younger listeners more fixated on her peers who are more about shy vocals, formless melancholy, and adolescent neuroses. But that makes sense. It’s adult music, and while I think anyone could click into Glaspy’s very melodic and accessible songs, it probably is something you need to be in the right frame of mind to fully appreciate.

Framing Glaspy’s records in this way feels a bit like I’m actually doing her a disservice, since in music “adult” is mostly a euphemism for boring. In adult music, emotions aren’t so extreme – they’re nuanced and complicated. And complexity and ambiguity have a way of coming across as low stakes, even if the reality is often that they’re much more fraught.

“Heartbreak” is a ballad rooted in R&B about a relationship that’s becoming too difficult to bear, but might not yet be broken beyond repair. Glaspy’s character frames the situation in a way that makes her passive to her partner’s whims – heartbreak is being induced, and the best defense she has in mind is to try to ignore it. The song resembles Lauryn Hill’s “Ex-Factor” in style and themes, and this makes a lot of sense as that song has been a staple of Glaspy’s live performances for years and she’s certainly fully internalized it by now. Her voice conveys both frustration and yearning, all the angst focused on how unresolved and open-ended the situation feels.

In lieu of some decision or emotional catharsis, the song ends with her trying to get her head around how she gone in this deep: The attraction runs deep, she compromises too often and too easily, and despite swearing to be honest they’ve both holding back some truths. The song ends on that thought and stops cold, as if she’s suddenly snapped out of the spell.

Buy it from Bandcamp.