Among the singles that slipped past us in recent months but we’re reclaiming now is Blondshell’s “Heart Has to Work So Hard,” the first preview from her upcoming album, “Violins” (the title track had been released recently). The New York-based artist moves again between grunge and alternative rock with a song that is especially direct.
Over a pounding drumbeat and grunge guitars, Blondshell builds a nearly monotone melody and a deliberately apathetic chorus, conveying a sense of emotional fatigue and being trapped in a repeating dynamic. That restraint makes the track gain power little by little until it culminates in a guitar solo and a bridge of nearly ecstatic melodic rise.
“My heart has to work so hard when you’re around,” she repeats, while “You make this feel like labor” sums up quite well the wear the song traverses.
Blondshell has explained that she’s speaking about friendship and betrayal, about getting stuck in a dynamic and letting things fester. Also about the confusion and pain of a friendship between two women, but about a love so lasting that it ends up leaving room for compassion.
