It can be a challenge to stand out in the crowded sea of pop hooks these days. Yet, “Deja Vu” manages to do just that in its glimmering trade-offs and aching core.
A smooth testament to the human element, “Deja Vu” catalogues the emotive movements of a couple, post-breakup, traveling through the world and away from each other. That is, with the caveat, that one another are still the main occupants of the other’s respective mind. Described as a song that “speaks to the internal power struggle between falling back into comfortable memories, and the desire to stop thinking about those and move on,” the song’s structure follows some of the established norms of modern electro-pop. Often reserved for more conventional love songs, “Deja Vu”‘s pulsing production offers a subversion of the norm- illustrating the same feelings of affection and tenderness in retrospect, now doused in the pain of ending.
“I don’t want to hang on to making love to Deja Vu” is the aforementioned hook, propelling passion between each verse, and seemingly determined to get stuck in one’s head. It is a crystallization of the song’s overarching triumphs- a glossy, concise, and imaginative illustration of a rather complex feeling. Where, as mentioned above, many pop songs reserve themselves for the conventions of love, “Deja Vu” explores its entanglements without straying from that central premise. After all, better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. “Deja Vu” is out today and streaming everywhere. Don’t forget to check it out.~