The latest single from Honeymoon Driver is a Trojan horse. It might seem like a good time, but packed away inside of “Better Off” is an untold number of potentially painful moments. Wrapped up in the sweet shell of a bop is a song about hopelessness, self-doubt, and coping mechanisms of varying efficacies.
Working once more with hit conjuror and production wizard John Mullane, Honeymoon Driver have continually stepped up their game, but if you’re going to visit the pop wizard you’re going to come away with a pop song. As Honeymoon Driver’s Blake d’Entremont jokes, they arrived at an agreeable middle ground.
“I wrote that reminiscing about when I used to journal as a twelfth grader; writing my most intimate thoughts as if someone would one day stumble upon it and read it. Things seem to matter a lot more when you’re younger,” says d’Entremont.
“I was pretty hesitant putting the song out since it’s a bit serious, but I think the lighter tones and John’s pop production adds much-needed levity to the tune.”
Despite the upbeat sound, d’Entrement notes that the lyrics lay bare the song’s far more serious subject matter. Buried in that syrupy mix are the harsher realities of mental health struggles and all the stigma that entails.
Right from the opening verse, “Better Off” launches in with the macabre musings of someone pondering a second-hand immortality, just as their own mortality has lost its initial shine.
“I put my soul on paper every single day,
In hopes that you will find it when I pass away,
I put my heart into this hoping I would die,
Then mostly sit around and contemplate goodbyes”
Although d’Entremont is relating to his own struggles with the song, he explains that the uniquely subjective nature of mental health prevents him from ever wanting to be the voice for these types of experiences, particularly if means irresponsibly glorifying depressive episodes. It almost meant the song didn’t get released.
“No two people are really ever feeling the same thing and not all advice/coping mechanisms work the same,” says d’Entremont. “On a personal level, I wasn’t sure if this song was too blatant about my struggles with mental illness. I’m no expert but I kind of just write what’s going on in my life most of the time.”