The moment “So Sick Of Dreaming” starts, it whisks me back to a warm-coloured, fuzzy-photographed version of the 70s.
The dreamy electric guitar, slightly washed with a chorus effect, pairs with Maggie’s close, clear, dry vocals to make the song feel like an old classic.
And if that wasn’t classic enough… well, this song is about a break-up.
The guy in the song has obviously gone beyond the “point of no return” with their relationship. Rogers gets specific about him going to a Knicks game instead of meeting her at the restaurant they’d booked. As the chorus tells us, she’s sick of dreaming about what could be, especially since what’s happening right now is falling apart, albeit almost comically.
But it’s not a song that dwells too much on the what-ifs.
I’m so sick of dreaming
I’m all that I’m needing
She’s full of self-reassurance, and triumphantly suggests he’s going to regret his actions:
If you think that life without me’s like a heart attack
Take a long look in the mirror and be good with that
The music goes sparser in the second verse to subtle effect, making the second chorus pop as everything builds up again. The chorus is so sing-along, with harmonies and irresistible oh-woahs in the background, it lodges itself with ease in your head and refuses to leave. It’s like something straight out of a Sheryl Crow or Fleetwood Mac songbook, with all the musings of an introspective writer and all the musical makings of a hit.
But after the second chorus, there’s an unexpected spoken word section (which a skeptic might consider to be dangerously close to plagiarism of Taylor Swift’s “We Are Never Getting Back Together,” but a fan will know as a clear, flattering nod to that song) documenting, to perfect effect, the exasperation of that Knicks game episode. The section closes with a cheeky admission that, in an endearingly snarky tone, feels justified:
And by the way, *laugh*, the Knicks lost
There’s a regretful nostalgia about how the guy is messing her around, and it seems recent enough to still come across as raw and painful, especially by the way she sings the choruses with such conviction. But the groove in the last chorus is so joyful, with a delightful tambourine joining in, that the takeaway isn’t regret or sadness. It’s more of a shrug, wonderfully easy on the ear, and insistent that things will be fine.
