With her new single, “Jawbreaker,” Loviet reflects on the darker side of ambition, asking whether—like the candy—it is our victories that prove to be hollow, or is it ourselves that contain nothing more than a dark empty space within our souls that will eventually consume us if this hunger is not satiated? And, again, much like the named comestible, this single has been crafted with several layers of sweet candy-coating, granting us the time to reflect upon the dissatisfaction yielded by our life choices.
“I just feel like the jawbreaker metaphor really summed this up,” says Loviet. “The work that goes into eating a jawbreaker… Imagine getting to the center and it’s literally empty when that’s supposed to be the best part.
“It’s kind of like the feeling of never being satisfied and the drive that follows everyone in life or working towards something. Once you achieve it, you’re just hungry for something else.
“I think everyone feels dissatisfied but it doesn’t mean they can be grateful. I’m probably one of those people that count my blessings before bed every night or feel just so lucky by the amount of love and happiness I’ve been given in my life. In this world, I am so privileged in different ways, not as much as some and much more than some others.
“But overall, especially looking at my own self and career, it’s a drive. And part of that nature is to always strive for better, to push. And I am harder on myself than others.”
Dissatisfaction is the curse of the chronically successful. Every success gives way to a new challenge. It plagues legends and rockstars, no longer content to sit on their laurels or afraid that their rollercoaster was roll to a stop.
“I think I’m the latter right now, with the fear of being dissatisfied,” says Loviet. “It’s like looking at their path and seeing how it’s isolating and ways to cope because it doesn’t satisfy once you do reach the top. It’s like those fears and those ambitions all in one with this very-not-dark song. [It’s] losing yourself in the climb and forgetting to take a look around or start back down the mountain. All of those feelings.”
Written during a zoom session co-write with two of Loviet’s regular NY-based collaborators, Dominic Florio—who Loviet wrote “Everyone Knows” with—and Ben Antelis, the song aimed for Lionel Ritchie meets No Doubt and Harry Styles, with a slappy side of ’70s porno guitar. It’s on-brand for Loviet’s pop-fueled mix of ’80s synth of ’90s grunge.
“It’s a whole bunch of wild things thrown into one,” says Loviet.
“Jawbreaker” is set to appear on Loviet’s upcoming album, which she describes as a wild theme park where “each track is really its own ride” on which she works to the core of some difficult conversations with herself.