After a really tough breakup, I told myself that I needed to fully devote myself to something that would help me through it. I was writing all of these songs, but felt stuck taking them to the next level and really wanted to find a way to improve, so I decided to finally learn how to play guitar. After a few months getting the hang of it and learning every Olivia Rodrigo song and then some, it finally started to click and the songs I was working on started to make sense.
Some of the best moments writing this album was when I would learn a new chord progression and let myself see what came out naturally, and Retrospect was one of those songs. I came across these power chords that were in some of my absolute favorite songs growing up, starting playing the progression on loop, and within 20 minutes wrote Retrospect. After I wrote it, I did what I always do and showed my mom, but I told her that I didn't think this song would go anywhere. It felt silly to me and it didn't feel like it made sense with the rest of what I was writing. But my mom absolutely loved it. She would insist on me playing it for her every time I was home and told me I had to put it on the album. I felt unsure, but when I started working on this album with my producer, I kept it at the bottom of the list, just in case.
It's funny how sometimes the songs you underestimate are the songs that end up being your favorite. Before we started working on Retrospect, most of what we produced was sort of Indie Pop and slower ballads. But when we started this song, we tried acoustic guitar and piano and it felt like something was missing. Then, once my producer pulled out his electric guitar and started playing the chords, we knew thats exactly what this song was. The rock song we never knew we'd make. After we made this song, it completely changed the record and really catapulted where we decided to go on the album. It gave us permission to hold nothing back and do exactly what feels right for each song, without any judgement.
This silly song that I didn't understand at the time ended up being that moment in the album where heartbreak turns into strength and you take back the power of your situation. Where you realize enough is enough and you no longer can put up with all you've had to endure. It's a reminder for the brokenhearted and the ones who've stayed in a bad situation for way too long that the best thing you can do is say goodbye and let karma do the rest. And… it rocks :)
You can now stream Retrospect - the song and the album! - wherever you stream.