RUE SNIDER – “DAVID BOWIE’S CLOTHES”
A SPILL EXCLUSIVE MUSIC PREMIERE
Spill is pleased to premiere “David Bowie’s Clothes,” the first single from Brooklyn, New York based Rue Snider’s upcoming fourth record, Puzzle Pieces. The tender love song begins with an acoustic guitar and piano combination that sounds like a music box. The dulcet tones evoke safety and nostalgia while conjuring visual images of spinning ballerinas as mechanical parts move slowly toward inevitable slumber. It’s a fitting visualization as the lyric quickly shifts from a riff on 1 Corinthians to confessions of manipulation and pleas for forgiveness.
The music box theme and lyric find their connection at the end of the pre-chorus, “I just wanna hold your hand/And see the world through your eyes if I can.” Referencing iconic pop songs is always a gamble but this one pays off. It sets the listener’s expectation for an uncomplicated, perhaps adolescent declaration in the chorus. It’s a welcome surprise when the refrain “It breaks my heart to not know/what you felt when you saw David Bowie’s clothes” demonstrates an emotional depth richer than sweaty palms.
The central metaphor is the traveling David Bowie exhibition that finished its run at the Brooklyn Museum in 2018. The lyric doesn’t just miss someone, it misses sharing their joy. Points to Snider for finding a fresh way into the broken heart trope.
He says, “I’ve written a lot about being sad and I’ve used songs to catalogue many of my emotions through the characters I sing about. This song is about a real person and a real situation. When this relationship ended I started going to therapy after a period of deep depression and I was able to address a lot of my unhealthy behavior. It took a while to realize how much my actions contributed to the dissolution of that coupling and this song is one of the many attempts to write about that and take responsibility.”
This is far and away the best work we’ve heard from Snider. His electric cover of Phoebe Bridgers’s “Chelsea” comes closest, but this wins the day for originality and charm.
Rue Snider
[Single]
(Independent)
Release Date: September 16, 2020
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