Photo credit: Natalie Sparaccio
Best Ex (the alter ego of Mariel Loveland) has shared the video for ‘Gap Tooth (On My Mind) ahead of the release of EP ‘Good at Feeling Bad’ via No Sleep Records and Alcopop! Records on 22 May. Described by Mariel as ‘A middle finger from a woman who’s over it and finds happiness regardless of the things that constantly try to knock us down’, the new song finds her opening up about getting lost and completely immersed in her ex-boyfriend’s life – and how it felt when he ended the relationship right before the holidays.
However, this heartbreak is set against a backgrop synth-led indie-pop hooks that would give Carly Rae Jepsen and Tegan and Sara a run for their money. Mariel opens the song by sharing her thoughts following the end of this long-distance relationship: ‘Oh God, it’s New Year’s and I’m counting on my fingers trying to figure out the time it is where you are’. She then ponders how she built her life around the man and ‘fell in love with all of your flaws’ before looking to a more positive future with chanted group vocals: ‘Maybe I’ll go out and kiss a couple of guys, maybe I’ll try on somebody else’s life. Maybe you’re the one who’s always on my mind and I’m terrified’ before some energetic beats come in.
Sounding like something that would be at home on the ‘Shrill’ soundtrack, it finishes with Mariel looking back on the positives (‘The way you’d kiss me in the morning, it plays on repeat’) even if this ex-lover won’t accept the happier times (‘You could say you never loved me, still got your sock in the bottom of my drawer’).
