This song, “Fake ID” by Cloe Wilder, is a rousing pop song all about being seventeen and wanting to finally do something rebellious. That can mean a lot of things for different people, but for Wilder, rebellion meant getting a fake ID. Based on a real story, the whole song really boils down to the feeling of growing up but wanting that growing up to be faster. When you’re old, you want to be younger, and when you’re young, you want to be older. Cloe Wilder nails this point in with one simple lyric - “I am 23, on my fake ID” - showing that desire to skip ahead a few years and grow up before your time. Immensely relatable, but wrapped in a dreamy, fun melody, this song taps into that nostalgic feeling of being a teenager and not knowing much about the world and what your place in it will be but wanting to make your mark on it anyway.
“Fake ID” slides right into place in the bedroom pop genre, with sounds and style perfect for storytelling. The song starts with just a simple guitar strum, bringing the nostalgia in early before Cloe Wilder comes in on the first verse with her smooth, breathy vocals. The pounding beat in the back kicks in soon after that, setting the bouncing pace for the rest of the song. The music grows in intensity for the chorus, breaking in with more powerful percussion before mellowing back out for the second verse. The tension is held high for the whole three minutes, reaching a peak at the bridge with an echoing effect of Wilder’s voice before fading out with the same stum of the guitar as the beginning. Overall, Wilder has made a song so filled with the captivating reminiscence of being a teenager, making it perfect for both the soundtrack of a coming of age movie and for just the playlist for a girl’s night or a drive alone in your car!
Cloe Wilder is a rising indie-pop singer songwriter who’s taking the pop world by storm already in the early days of her career. Compared to a Floridian young Taylor Swift, her strength is in her lyricism and her ability to tell a relatable story in a way that pairs with a catchy melody to make a hit. Cloe Wilder credits artists like Bon Iver and Lana Del Rey as inspirations, and you can hear it in the poignancy of her songs such as “Super 8” and “House by the Water”. She released her first single, “Crying When I Shouldn’t”, as a teenager in 2020, and has released several more songs since then, including the album Teenage Lullabies in 2021. “Fake ID” is her latest release, and you can use the links below to listen to that and to explore more of her amazing music!
Written By Morgan Fischer
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