Imagine you are heading out to meet your latest romantic connection. You’ve spent the day talking them up to friends and coworkers hoping this might be the one, or at least someone to get you through the holidays. You picture them sitting next to you for those awkward family dinners, and a wave of relief starts to chip away at your anxiety. When you arrive to pick up your date, you feel a signal that this will survive the sunrise. The rest of the night goes great, at least in your mind, and hope begins to swell.
But then things take a turn. On the way home, the conversation fizzles and their phone screen illuminates the car. You part ways with a lukewarm hug and a passive agreement to see each other soon. But the days drag on with only limited banter and no firm plans to meet up. Then you get that text, the one you’ve secretly dreaded, letting you know that things aren’t working out and that you should see other people.
On her new single “Mixed Signals,” Maggie Schneider sheds light on this miserable, devastating part of dating. Set to the strains of an infectiously catchy pop song, the lyrics resonate with the confusion and distress you feel when your significant other seems to love you one day and ignore you the next. The lead-in to the hook is straight-up “you love me, you love me not,” the age-old trope of picking petals off a flower in hopes for the universe to confirm your heart’s desire. It’s a different sound for Schneider, driven in part by perky synths and pulsing electronics, but the emotional honesty that has colored her past work continues to ring true.
Verily, no one wants mixed signals as they can crush hope when it starts to blossom from the gloom of loneliness. We may struggle to find love, but at least “Mixed Signals” can help us vent while we carry on.
Listen below.
Maggie Schnieder will perform on Thur., Nov. 21 at the Masquerade alongside Kayak Jones, Young Culture, Keep Flying, and Like Mike. Doors open at 6 p.m. Admission is $12. All ages.
More Info
Web: itsmaggieschneider.com
Facebook: @itsmaggieschneider
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Twitter: @ItsMaggie_S