Sarah Cicero pulls some heartstrings that we can all feel in her latest single, “Indifferent.” With the understanding of the pain that comes from someone not only falling out of love with you, but reaching a point where they feel nothing, Cicero harnesses that into a song colored with soft melodies, melancholic tones, a blues-like style and jazzy instruments like keys and saxophone.
There’s a vintage vibe to Cicero’s overall style, a little retro, something reminiscent of early 2000s, but with a modern indie touch. Her other single, “Ceramic Sun,” reflects similar styles and sounds as “Indifferent.”
In “Indifferent,” Cicero laments the loss of a relationship, a rather painful one in which someone fell out of love and became indifferent to her, but she did not. Nearly anyone can relate, or at least imagine, such an experience. According to Cicero’s Spotify profile, she aims to “embrace all of the uncertainty and nebulousness that is being a twentysomething.” I can understand all too well the uncertainty and nebulousness of such a time, and with it typically comes the pains of heartbreak and disappointment. But Cicero took that pain and disappointment and channeled it into something beautiful, which others could experience catharsis through.
The song’s beginning with the steady rhythm of drums, bass, and keys evokes a mood of something wonderful ending. Cicero’s luminous and velvety vocals come in soft but confidently. Her voice moves smoothly along, almost in a hypnotic way, drawing us in and bubbling up emotions we tend to hold down deep. The music builds as other instruments are introduced, like guitar and saxophone, while Cicero also builds up her vocals in strength and urgency.
The lyrics pack a punch in the feels department. Cicero not only sings about how her old lover has become indifferent, she also sings about how she wishes she could be indifferent too, to lessen the pain.
You walked away from us, I can’t
Why do I take what I can get?
How did you get so damn indifferent?
I wish I was indifferent like you.
That desperation to hang on to something you know is slipping away…Cicero eloquently evokes that emotion in her song.
You had me then,
You still have me now.
My friends think I’m crazy
For sticking around.
It’s evident in her voice that Cicero knows that sticking around only exacerbates the pain, but she hangs on anyway. The reality of the situation is presented, however, is presented from beginning to end when she repeats the same lyrics from the beginning at the very end:
You don’t look at me the same
Your mouth’s a straight line now
When you say my name.
Having the song end on these lyrics brings it full circle, as well as brings Cicero’s journey full circle of fighting and realizing it’s a fight not worth continuing. It’s like she accepts the truth and moves on. And as the song gently descends into a quiet ending, it’s like we share in her bittersweet conclusion, and find a glimmer of hope.
