There’s a sort of nostalgia invoked by the sound of a hairy guitar slicked back over thumping bass and resonant synths. Stevie Zita from Toronto, Canada, gives us what they describe as “a laidback slacker pop track about a couple not being on the same wavelength for their weekend plans”, and something about the construction of this piece brings to mind the underground radio hits of the 2010s broadcast from some elusive, reclusive genius’s attic. Rough yet legato electric guitars sway like trees in the autumn breeze on a disappointed drive back home above smooth synths and bumpy drums; fried alto vocals carry Zita’s indignant lyrics.
Honey, it’s just so absurd
how you won’t keep your word
I thought that we were goin’
downtown dancin’, I dressed
all fancy, y’know?
Count the options on your hand
then you throw away our plans
you keep on sayin’ “maybe”
so tell me, oh tell me
whatchu’ want
just tell me whatchu’ want
Connection depends on communication. When the latter wanes, the former falls apart, as demonstrated by the narrative Zita lays out in this track. The full ensemble of the band is reserved for the pleading chorus; meanwhile, each verse is underlined by a single guitar strumming chord after chord and persistent drums to keep the momentum. Within the lyrics themselves, we see hints of a genuine desire to remain connected, perhaps even a sense that not all the love is lost between this couple, yet too many issues stifle communication, which, as explained, is practically a death sentence for whatever connection this couple has.
With all the ice that’s in your veins,
It’s no wonder you don’t feel the shame
I thought that we were goin’
downtown, but somehow
I’m home alone
With the third verse of the song, we see that the broken promises aren’t the only thing our narrator finds contemptible. Whether “ice in [the] veins” here refers to a cold, detached personality or to the slang term for crystal methamphetamine is left ambiguous, as both are plausible explanations for the subject of our narrator’s argument not feeling any shame for their behavior. Whatever the case may be, it is clear that whatever is occupying the vocalist’s partner in this narrative has led to their neglect of someone practically left begging for their acknowledgement at least.
I gave respect, so give me mine
this is all a waste of time
you just keep on sayin’ “maybe”
so tell me, oh tell me
whatchu’ want
With this last distinct verse, we see that more resentment has boiled over and that this goes a bit beyond a simple case of weekend plans falling through. The narrator feels disrespected by this lack of commitment when they’ve given enough of their time and respect to their partner, to the point of blatant discouragement in the relationship itself, with their significant other’s most-recently broken promise. While the music itself is light, swaying, and fun, Stevie Zita hides turbulent emotion and interpersonal turmoil in plain sight behind this veneer of relaxed, nostalgic pop and fuzzy distortion, much like their predecessors and contemporaries in the slacker pop/rock genre. This vulnerability, reserved for those attuned to a song’s lyrics, has been something I’ve loved in any song I hear, be it a listen for pleasure or for work (as some songs have the tendency to transcend one category to the other frequently, much like I suspect this song will in time). As the song tapers out into silence, we hear the mumbling, half-aware response of who we can assume to be the object of our vocalist’s frustrations, apparently voiced by frontman Stevie Zita himself (judging from a comparison of that voice to other tracks where Zita provides lead vocals).
For listeners who want something to sing along to in the car, be it with just as much frustration as the song’s vocalist or with a purposefully ignorant yet blissful grin, I cannot suggest Stevie Zita’s “Whatchu Want” enough once it releases on October 28th of this year via SoundCloud and/or Spotify.
Written by by Alexei Lee
