With less than a month to go until the release of Cry Mfer, the debut album from Lily Konigsberg and Nate Amos’ My Idea, they’ve shared another single called “Breathe You”. Amos’ vocals are more prominent here than usual, and he explains how it sort of accidentally came about:
“‘Breathe You’ was never really intended to be on the album. I made the hook/beat in the middle of a night when I was unable to sleep and sent it to Lily as a sort of ‘check out how ridiculous this is’ joke; she recorded the verses and sent it back within a day. This was during a really difficult time for both of us and we were processing our emotions in very different ways – I buried my sadness inside of humor and Lily wore hers on her sleeve.
“After it was finished we both forgot about it for months, eventually adding it to the album at the request of a few trusted friends. In spite of the absurdity of the song at a basic level it ended up being as honest and accurate as anything we’ve made, and it took us months to realize that. Usually I hand off my vocal parts to Lily, but this is one of a few moments where my demo vocals remain in the final cut. We are both really really proud of this song. It is not particularly easy for either of us to listen to but we hope that you (!) like it and find some consolation in it (whatever you may be dealing with at this time).”
The pledge “I don’t want to be outside / I just want to breathe you” sounds kind of sweet, but sung in Amos’ almost pop-soul vocal style and over a sweaty low-end the sexual desire comes to the fore (he then he goes on to make his desire for fucking even more explicitly clear). It’s an unexpectedly extroverted take, and Konigsberg doubles down with some extra breathy vocals on the same theme, although with plenty of silliness and smirks. You can see why they initially thought it was a throwaway track, as it feels quite different to the rest of the project, but further listens reveal that it’s exactly the same heart and purpose behind it, even if it sounds like a DIY Justin Bieber.
Watch the video for “Breathe You” below or find the song on streaming platforms.
My Idea’s debut album Cry Mfer will be out on April 22 through Hardly Art (pre-order/save). You can find the project on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
