Etherealism envelops jagged introspection in Cassie Bouchard’s latest single, Since I Got Here. The independent singer-songwriter, known for spiralling emotional overspills into euphony which refuses to be tempered by genre constraints, hit her creative zenith in this single by freeing the production from gravity and viscerally visualising the thematic core of the exploration of alienation. If you know how it feels to be othered by the nature of your idiosyncrasies, Since I Got Here will make macrame from your heartstrings.
Since I Got Here borrows a few dreamier neo-pop trademarks and oscillates in the borderlands between the auras of Grandaddy, Elliott Smith and Big Thief, while carrying a contemporary pop pull that could show Sabrina Carpenter fans what depth can look like inside the genre. The production feels sugar-dusted but uneasy, letting soft synths and melodic warmth wrap around lyrics that sit closer to confession than performance.
Confessional pop rarely contains so much lyrical wit. Bouchard’s proclamations unfurl into poetic outpourings, injecting playful, self-effacing humour into the narration of insecurities and senses of inferiority that plenty of us, cursed with the misfortune of being self-aware, will clock a little too hard. The song captures the specific loneliness of feeling like an alien on Earth, wanting connection to feel natural while the world treats personal relationships like business correspondence.
Ahead of her debut album, Smile As You Bleed, arriving October 30, Bouchard has shaped a single that turns emotional displacement into something sweetly bruising.
Since I Got Here is now available on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify.
Review by Amelia Vandergast
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