Anyone who has been in a relationship before knows that breakups are hard, especially if they are one-sided. For the person who wants the relationship, it’s best to just accept it with grace. However, that’s easier said than done. It is also not healthy to bottle up your emotions because they will boil over. In the case of Claire Nichols, she ends up kicking and screaming. Instead of taking her feelings out on the other person though, Nichols channels all her energy into an upbeat pop tune.
There were a lot of aspects of this song that I enjoyed. The first one that stood out to me was the progression of the music. You can hear the calm strumming of a guitar as Nichols sings "tell me it’s not over yet." The music builds until she asks the question, “do you even care?” Right then there’s a full on electric guitar and the beat stays fast until the end of the song. It’s almost as if the music is illustrating a tantrum. Along with the instrumentation, Nichols sings some really memorable lines. Specifically, I liked the one in the very beginning of the song that goes, “headlights on the walls of my apartment, you’re running from the scene of a heartbreak.” This was a really strong illustration of her sadness, as she’s comparing her breakup to a crime. This line and the song itself were beautifully delivered. You can hear strong emotion in Nichols’s voice.
Claire Nichols has been writing music from a very young age. She was raised in Colorado and is now based out of Los Angeles. If you liked “Kicking and Screaming” and want to listen to her similar songs, you should check out “Aperol Spritz.” It is still upbeat like “Kicking and Screaming,” but it sounds more jazzy and smooth. Also, instead of being mad over a breakup, “Aperol Spritz” is a song about being young and in love. If you want to hear a different side of Nichols, you should listen to “Corners.” It is a slow, reflective song about the pains of growing up. All of these songs show that Nichols displays all aspects of her life through music, whether it’s good or bad.
Written By Kelli Dixon
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