Heather Sommer’s latest release, “My Mind Makes Me” speaks on the unintentional thought processes and recurring memories that shadow most of our lives. The past, her goals, her former ones, and the future she now views constantly echoing in her head. Not only does the piece call awareness to the consistent ideas that occupy most of our minds and go unaddressed, making her audience feel seen and understood, but it also addresses these patterns in a way that omits guilt and self-consciousness surrounding them. By referring to the experience as something her “mind makes” her do, she reduces the subject to something of physical unavoidability that normalizes regret and overwhelming thoughts and allows room for them to be part of the human experience rather than something shameful.
The beginning of the song feels the way her lyrics describe the experience itself must have, “life hit me” she instantly begins singing, hitting the audience with the same sudden shock. She starts off on an already upbeat note, seemingly throwing the audience into the chaos she feels her head is. Sommer then goes on to almost list the thoughts she has, being vulnerable and creating a sense of intimacy with the listener. Her repetitive and catchy phrases surrounding her mind are said pointedly and more calmly than the thoughts themselves, with skilled and memorable instrumentals backing her. Though her lyricism and tone is admirable, it is Heather Sommer’s voice that steals the show, strong and passionate, her talent is especially undeniable in this piece.
Heather Sommer is an independent artist, fairly new to the scene, releasing her first EP, “Nocturnal”, in February of 2021. She’s always had a connection to artistic subjects such as this, as a young girl she took advanced art classes and participated in choir. This continued as she moved on to college where she studied design and illustration, writing songs in between her classes. Now, she travels between New York and L.A., creating everywhere with everyone she meets. The artist values moving between destinations, genres, and collaborating with other creatives to bring out a little piece of everything in her work. This method has proved successful, with Sommer gaining over 60 million streams on Spotify since Nocturnal’s release as well as amassing an impressive social media following with about 50k followers on Instagram and TikTok. Follow these accounts below and stream “My Mind Makes Me”.
Written By Hailey Schap
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