New York City bedroom pop artist Grace Ives sounds freer than ever on her upcoming third album ‘Girlfriend.’ The anxieties of love, lust, and heartbreak remain, but this time they unfold on her own terms – as expressed in her defiant single, “Stupid Bitches.”
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Stream: “Stupid Bitches” – Grace Ives
New York City, a metropolis where eight and a half million people hustle through the endless grid of streets and avenues, continues to chug along with seamless rhythm and vitality on a daily basis.
This can be overwhelming to some, but finding solace and gratitude in the chaos is not as rare as it seems. Singer/songwriter and New York native Grace Ives offers a tutorial on navigating the restlessness, insecurities, and overstimulating aspects of city life through a lens of solitude and, not so coincidentally, grace.
Ives’ debut LP, 2nd (released in 2019), delivered a clean and concise 22-minute mood board of songs that captured the highs and lows of everyday life, but provided room to dance. It quickly established her as an artist in the scene to watch. Unsurprisingly, Ives followed up her first record with the critically acclaimed ten-track Janky Star (2022), a well-oiled sound machine of bedroom pop hymns that was gifted to the world and introduced her unique production to the masses, or at least to the ones who were not paying attention.
The subgenre of bedroom pop was becoming a significant catalyst in the ever-changing landscape of music, and as the 2010s transitioned into the 2020s, Ives became one of its frontrunners. While other artists teetered off to heavier productions and bigger canvasses, she held her ground. With her Roland MC-505 Groovebox and a lack of seriousness, she continued to focus on effortless amusement – demanding the listener to get every beat, melody, and lyric stuck in their head while commuting via the subway or cleaning your lonely, lackluster apartment on the Lower East Side.
God, I really played the fool
Wound myself up to curl into you
Why’d it end up hurting way too much?
I’m a loser with an aching touch
This time around, Ives expands her resonance while keeping true to her signature bedroom pop style on her third LP, Girlfriend (out March 20 via True Panther / Capitol Records).
With her latest single, “Stupid Bitches,” she beckons us to detach from the everyday apprehensions and free fall into the lushness of being unbothered.
But something about it makes me brave.
Tough enough to see myself replaced.
I just let it be embarrassing,
so you left me with a broken wing
Ives establishes an alternate universe with “Stupid Bitches,” where you can vanish into your own thoughts without repercussion. This universe allows refuge immediately with a warm blanket of vibrations that engulf the ears the minute you press play. The opening synths swirl and float with ease, drifting through the air like snowflakes on a windy wintry day. The gentle pulse shimmers and lingers just long enough to blur into the next, and suddenly you’re met with the punch of the drums, forcing you to focus on why we’re here in the first place.
For a brief moment, you can let your hair down and feast on the nonchalance, but know when to buckle up and step on the gas. Ives comes to a realization with a sense of self-assurance in the opening lyric, “God, I really played the fool, wound myself up to curl into you,” – acknowledging that a mistake was made, though her tone is wistful and reminiscent. This was not a mistake, but a lesson learned – and one never to be repeated.
Well, baby, you’re a part of this.
You’re not a victim of my loneliness.
I will let you take it out on me,
but next time, kindness over honesty.
Ives takes pride in knowing it isn’t entirely your fault, but puts things into perspective – that in order to reconcile, both parties need to be involved to understand the cadence of what happened, and maybe this time it’s better to show a little compassion instead of revealing the truth.
Yet, this doesn’t really matter at the end of the day, because “Stupid bitches can’t hurt me, yeah, I’ve been through the needle now, I see, I won’t shatter in the aftermath. I’m a bullet on an arrow’s path.” Instead of taking the punch, it’s blocked by the realization that nothing stands in your way – and nothing will ever bring you down. You are a force to be reckoned with.
Doesn’t hurt me anymore.
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Grace Ives carries a clear desire for her audience to let their frustrations fall off their shoulders and repurpose that energy into laughter and joy
She is constantly pushing you out on the dance floor as a kind of catharsis, begging you to shake off all the doubts and worries in your mind.
“Stupid Bitches” beckons you to follow suit with confidence, but it also forces you to become your own person. It’s not just about escapism – but reclaiming the space you created for yourself. It is an act of defiance that births a celebration and a reminder to keep your head up and not let the bastards get you down.
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Stream: “Stupid Bitches” – Grace Ives
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