On his impeccable, latest single, "Six Feet Under" Heartmouth built the powerful motor to a pop song and left it in the cold overnight. The verses feel torn at the seams: twisting and rumbling like a cranking engine begging to spring to life. As Casey Allen, the pop project's mastermind, explores a relationship long since ended, the grungy bass and thumping drums gradually build momentum. What finally sends the song into overdrive is the realization that escape is not possible. Instead, over a crashing and danceable instrumental, Heartmouth sets his sights on a new target: catharsis.
"I don't want to say it's over / I just need some closure," is the song's crown jewel. The succinct and stirring couplet contrasts like a vivid painting being drained of its saturation. One moment he indulges a hopeful passion, the next he tempers his goals. It's a dichotomy between protecting a precious relic and preserving the necessities of a war-stricken wasteland. It's on this level that "Six Feet Under" functions: the friction between passion and self-preservation in a breakup. The song begins with Allen implying that the breakup is something he'd avoided processing: "it's been a long time since I circled back." Clearly, however, this hasn't exactly helped him heal. As he bursts into the energetic chorus, catharsis seems to be the only palatable route for him to take. "The memories pull me lower / to a love that's six feet under." The unbridled passion finds the engine burning out, but between the highs and lows there is a healthy medium between distance and indulgence.
HeartMouth is the creative project of North Carolina native, Casey Allen. Previously he has drummed for the metal band, Embracing Goodbye, and performed as a member of folk-pop duo, Season & Snare. His solo project, HeartMouth, contains Allen at his rawest and most confessional. His central goal is to articulate universal, human experiences in direct and unadorned pop music. "Six Feet Under" is the second single he has released this year, with plans to release an EP by the end of 2022.
Written By Andy Mockbee
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