With her melancholic new single ‘Over Now’, singer-songwriter Claudia Fenoglio has delivered the perfect soundtrack to Summer daydreams. There is almost a gossamer quality to the song - with its delicate mix of acoustic guitar and silky vocals - which only serve to highlight the paper-thin vulnerability of the lyrics.
‘Over Now’ is the Fenoglio’s exciting debut into folk-pop. Addressed to an absent partner, whom the singer seems to be tethered to, the song comes to terms with how their relationship has reached its expiry date. There is a drowsy, weary quality to the singer’s voice, not unlike Julia Jacklin. The soothing beat and pared-back harmonies make for perfect listening when you are in a reflective, or even lethargic, mood.
With the last faded line being ‘Boy, it’s safe to say that you’re not ever coming down’, Fenoglio gives the impression that, although the lovers in the song are undoubtedly attached to each other, there is an emotional distance the size of an ocean between them. The song carries with it a bittersweet sense of resolution, as the singer emerges from the chaotic world of heartbreak. It’s painful work, and the lyrics - such as ‘Hate my fragile mind’ - suggest that whilst the song accepts the ending of the romance, the singer is nonetheless left feeling bruised and vulnerable. In this way, the song becomes a kind of exhalation of both sorrow and relief from a soured relationship.
Transporting the listener to an overcast, rainy day, the emotional exposure within the lyrics has a handwritten quality, as if you can hear the pencil repeatedly scratching the refrain ‘It’s over now’.
Ultimately, ‘Over Now’ is about defining yourself away from a relationship which has become corrosive, and becoming your own entity again.
Stream ‘Over Now’ on Spotify
Words by Angelica Krikler