Home is an abstract idea that can be found within a person or a place. But a house only becomes a home when the space that's being occupied feels like our own subjective idea of home. In other words, our emotional connection to space transforms how a given place is perceived by us. But what happens when a house ceases to be a home for us? When this house harbors and plays home to a version of ourselves that’s foreign and uncomfortable to think about? Andie Mechanic explores the confrontation with such a house that homes an older version of herself from three years ago in her new single, “Clinton”.
“Clinton” is a transformative, folk-pop single about reflecting on past selves and the mistakes that were made as these selves. The single opens with a glimpse of the confrontation that’s to come in the form of a soaring, rock-inspired distress that can be heard in the background. Afterwards, the acoustic guitar-laden ballad clues listeners in on the darkness that surrounds the artist’ past self through a folk melody. Mechanic’s vocals are bared in whispers to highlight how older versions of ourselves manage to linger around in spite of the houses we confine them to. The song’s progression leads us to a distortion where it eventually crescendos into an intense, folk-rock harmony – the hour to confront a past self has arrived. But this confrontation doesn’t hold malicious intent; it’s to provide empathy and understanding for an older version of us that was experiencing a surplus of overwhelming emotions. This intention is made clear when Mechanic returns to her soft whispering, and the single ends on the hauntingly poignant folk melody listeners became familiar with. By loaning some compassion to ourselves, we can have honest conversations about the mistakes we’ve made to make conscious efforts to grow from them.
Andie Mechanic is a singer, songwriter, and current student at the Berklee School of Music in Boston set to graduate this May. The budding artist’s discography dives headfirst into grittier topics that address life’s hard truths and lingering aches with compassionate wisdom. After graduating, Mechanic’s long-term plan is to move to Los Angeles to pursue music full-time. Her short-term plans center on releasing an album and the music video for “Clinton”. All listeners know for now regarding the latter is that it’ll contain photography and videography from Hamilton College in Clinton, New York that was shot by the artist's best friend, Amaliya Rakhmatullina . While you patiently wait for updates, show Mechanic some virtual love in the form of streams, likes, and follows.
Written by Giavanna Gradaille
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