New York-based musician Olivia Castriota grew up in Pennsylvania, with a passion for music manifesting early as she wrote songs in elementary school about boys and heartbreak. Her music today is a little more self-reflective, and whilst it may largely focus on matters of the heart, she rarely makes songs about being in love itself:
“Feelings are my favourite and I love, love. The weird part is, I rarely write actual “love” songs, but the second things go south, I have no problem writing an entire album about it. I love a cry your eyes out heartbreak song as much as I love a badass anthem.”
With a style that blends an upbeat electronic pop aesthetic with the earthy vocal delivery that channels the likes of Amy Winehouse, Castriota’s sound is distinctive in its ability to sound both grounded and dream-like. Here on Never Lie About You, Olivia depicts a situation where a small argument boils over into something more meaningful and hurtful. Drawing on that aforementioned self-reflection, Castriota concludes that “I lie a little bit more than I like to, but I would never lie about loving you”.
With production work that evokes easy-breezy summer days and the nervousness that comes from skirting the boundaries of a relationship’s comfort zone, Never Lie About You feels both hopeful and nervous. The chorus itself has this playful shout-out-loud cadence that captures something of the argument itself — that wonderful thing of a song whose very sound conveys the thing it depicts.