The new single from the artist is about a “one-foot-in, one-foot-out relationship” and “speaks to the fear of acting on feelings”
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Imagine a world of romance sans risk. One in which, if things didn’t work out, you could both just say “WHOOPS!” Then high five, revert to your previous relationship status, forget you ever had any feelings and pretend you never got naked together.
Unfortunately, we’re human. And that means life (and love) is typically more complicated that that. It’s one thing when it’s a one-night stand in Vegas that actually stays in Vegas or a Tinder date who lives in Astoria. You’ll never see those people again! But often we fall for the individuals who already exist in our orbit: the funny friend, the hot co-worker, the bartender who only charges us 18% of the time. And acting on these feelings comes with high stakes. If it works out, that’s great! Now the maid of honor has a nice little meet-cute she can share while drunkenly sobbing into her glass of champagne at the wedding. But if it doesn’t, well, guess you better prepare yourself for a lifetime of awkward encounters at birthday parties, bars, concerts and copy machines until one of you moves. Or dies. (Also, I hope you didn’t really like that bar, because bad news: you can never, ever go back.)
It’s tough to know whether to take this leap—to put yourself out there and potentially sabotage what you have in hopes of getting something more. It’s a calculated risk, a very specific fear. And it’s a situation that’s illustrated brilliantly and beautifully in “Lake Sebago,” the new single from the incredibly talented Mary Hood, which I’m absolutely obsessed with and so, so thrilled to premiere here.
Ahead of the release (“Lake Sebago” is out everywhere at midnight!), the artist shared the background on the song and the relationship that inspired it:
“‘Lake Sebago’ is a song about a one foot in, one foot out relationship, hence the line ‘call it what you want, it won’t change what it is.’ It speaks on the fear of acting on feelings, and is about the beginnings of dating my drummer Chris. We were bandmates and best friends for nearly a year before anyone made a move. And at the start we both had a lot of fear – about losing our friendship or losing our band.”
Fortunately, all has not been lost. Quite the contrary, in fact. After a recent move to NYC, the pair is still together (as a couple and creative collaborators), and the addition of one of my favorite Brooklyn artists/humans, Mary Hood is both growing and thriving—a story the artist also offered up over email:
“Chris and I ended up moving to Brooklyn from Upstate, NY during the fall of 2020 at the height of the pandemic. It was probably the most ballsy thing either of us has done. We moved for music, and it was depressing in the winter with nothing happening and us looking for work, unable to play shows. In the spring, Chris saw Meredith Lampe (Work Wife) on a Bandsdobk post that said she was looking for women to write with and he encouraged me to reach out to her. We really hit it off both musically and personally and she quickly became a part of my band as well. It’s been amazing to be a part of Brooklyn after a long drought of no shows and no end in sight. I didn’t expect things to open up so soon but I am thrilled that they did. People are more excited than ever to go to shows, and I am so excited for what’s to come. The energy, creativity and positivity in Brooklyn is unmatched and we are stoked to be playing our first show here this weekend at FirstLive thanks to Sam and Raman at Bandsdobk.”
I too could NOT be more stoked. Grab your tickets to catch Mary Hood at BdBK Presents: Saturday Night (First)Live #4 THIS SATURDAY at FirstLive with dreamy duo Almost Sex (you can also stream her performance here).
And hey, maybe consider inviting the bff or barista or bassist in your life that you have a crush on. I think it might just be worth taking that chance.
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Follow Mary Hood at @mary_hood, buy music on Bandcamp and add the music to your Spotify playlists!
Feature image provided by the artist.