Like many others, Portland, Oregon artist Maria DeHart writes about what she knows, so when nothing is happening, there isn’t much to write about. Except, perhaps, about the fact that nothing is happening.
It was in the blurred-together, overlong, and impossibly-difficult-to-keep-track-of epoch of quarantine that DeHart dove into self-reflection. Navigating the complete lack of physical freedom afforded her freedom of a new kind – the time to explore creatively and spontaneously.
Today Glide is excited to premiere DeHart’s new single “In My Head,” a song that dials in precisely on the fear of being alone with one’s own thoughts for unending, blurring days. Backed by a simple guitar, drum machine and New Wave-esque synth, DeHart sings in a way that is almost deadpan as if to reflect the boredom that many of us are facing during these locked down times. This is literal bedroom pop, with DeHart channeling her wearying feelings and anxieties into a simple and catchy morsel. Taking sonic prompts from modern indie pop artists like Caroline Polachek and Phoebe Bridgers, the song exists in a world self-created and self-reflexive. For DeHart, “In My Head” functions as a creative and mental release, and one that happens to sound great too.
DeHart describes the inspiration behind the song:
“This track is about the fear of being alone with my own thoughts all day and having no real life outside of my own anxieties and the extensive yet limited world that is social media. After the first couple weeks of quarantine, which I found to be a rather enjoyable and relaxing change because I have a bad habit of over-scheduling myself, I started to realize that I was unhappy living at the expense of what was happening on my phone and that my purpose in life is actually driven by my participation in my community.”
LISTEN: