American-Swedish singer Rhys is laying it all out on the floor and liberating herself from tough times with her new tune “Thanks a lot now I can’t smile.” This single comes just ahead of her highly-anticipated follow-up EP to her 2018 album Stages. While we have to wait until the new year for this project, “Thanks a lot now I can’t smile” is a sarcastic and heavy tune that maneuvers through a depressive episode with engaging and moving lyrics.
Laden with carefully crafted songwriting and harmonious acapellas, the song utilizes Rhys’ distinctive voice to create a beautiful soundscape that cuts just as deep as the heartbreaking lyrics. The production is bold with hints of an alternative edge. Deeply affected and disillusioned from the realities of life, Rhys tells a tale of heartbreak that goes beyond tears and hate, but dives a bit deeper into her psychological condition, saying “I’m having trouble sleeping, I’m anxious all the time” and “If my words hurt you then I’m sorry, I’m like a toddler with a gun.” These feelings were some Rhys just couldn’t shake, even sharing:
“I was quite depressed there for a year and felt incapable of socializing with others without killing the whole vibe. I just kind of found myself walking around thinking ‘great, I’m gonna feel this shitty forever, thanks a lot’. It was hard to write about it while I was living it, but writing about it in retrospect, after some time had passed, was super liberating and kind of let me joke and be sarcastic about that shitty period.”
Five years have passed since the breakthrough singles ”Swallow Your Pride” and ”Last Dance” and three years since her acclaimed debut album Stages, which has reached over 160 million streams on Spotify. Since then, Rhys has made a journey musically – from the debut’s pure pop sound to a more organic sound that goes hand in hand with the wave of new indie-pop and pop-punk that has broken out internationally.
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