British pop provocateur Caswell has been building excitement for a couple of years, and is turning up the volume on that hype with her first release of 2020. “Distraction” is a song about losing yourself – “Think Tove Lo ‘Habits (Stay High)’ but with sex and alcohol,” she says. Delving further into lyrics she says:
“I like lyrically exploring thoughts or feelings that everyone has but seldom say aloud. We’ve all been there when we’ve desperately wanted a rebound whilst in the depths of a grievous break-up, in this song I’m directly asking a stranger if I can pretend they’re my ex-partner. Imagining someone other than who you are with is not something people will openly admit, so this song addresses that quite candidly.”
What sounds like a worrying mindset at first actually comes across as totally empowering in Caswell’s sauntering pop style. As she says, these are not thoughts that people often say out loud, but by singing openly about her taboo desires on “Distraction” she’s taking agency over her feelings, and it’s powerful. Combined with stylish and glistening production, Caswell makes the proposal of being her “Distraction” nothing less than an inarguably alluring prospect.
