Whether you’re more of a casual dater or someone who’s mostly been in long-term relationships, chances are good you’ve crossed paths with someone you just couldn’t get close to. No matter the angle you took, how much effort you put in or how much time you gave it, you could only get so far before it felt like you were being intentionally shut out — or perhaps even being gaslighted.
New local indie-pop project Vivienne Blue (whose singer you might recognize from now-defunct group Full Mood), has some choice words for just such an individual in her debut single “A Little Bit Off.” Over a swaying, electronically enhanced pop groove that puts me in mind of Sheena Easton, she picks apart a former partner’s behavior: “Don’t know what you want ’cause you won’t say it / It’s not my job to explain it and / I come around a hundred times saying / 'OK, you’re right, yeah, that’s fine' / You’re wasting my time, it should be a crime.”
“This song is best listened to in your car with the windows down, speeding down Gallatin Avenue, screaming at your ex,” Blue says in a note to the Scene. “In all seriousness, I wrote this song about a relationship I was in that left my head spinning. I wanted to make sense of it all, so I threw a party for my sadness, and ‘A Little Bit Off’ was born.”
The track was produced by Preston Cochran, whose arm’s-length list of credits includes boygenius and Lucy Dacus, and it hit streaming services on Friday. Today we’re very pleased to premiere the music video, directed by Emily Moses and Katty Danger. The piece features Blue in a variety of vignettes in which she’s doing her best to get her feet back under her. Said scenarios include a boudoir video shoot, tossing around some lingerie that carries bad memories and having a little dance party with Shelby Spencer, Caroline Schneider and Diya D.
Check out the video above, find the track on your favorite streaming service and keep up with Blue on Instagram for updates. Blue says to expect more singles, which you’ll be able to preview along with this song at her debut live performance. That’ll be Sept. 13 at Random Sample, with support from the great Eve Maret.
