REVIEW: New York City-Based Trio People I’ve Met Explore the Emotional Freedom on the Other Side of a Breakup With Their Buzzy New Track
REVIEW
REVIEW
☆ BY SULLIVAN JORDAN ☆
PEOPLE I’VE MET SPIN A MELLOW BLEND OF RELAXED SURF-ROCK INSTRUMENTALS THAT CREATE A BRIGHT OUTLOOK AFTER AN EMOTIONALLY WRUNG-OUT BREAKUP. “For Hire” doesn’t linger in the past, fighting for a relationship that will never work while sacrificing emotional and physical space: “In any situation that you'd like/You’re not getting us for hire/No you're not getting us for hire/You’re not getting us for hire.” There can be a fine line between reasonable compromise and advantageous personal sacrifice. This line is especially blurred in the tangled heat of passion.
“For Hire” demands honesty, genuine connection, and vulnerability from a relationship that only offers the opposite: “Give me those eyes/Get me back on your side/Give me any sort of life/Or just leave me alone/Pull me aside/Tell me all of your lies/Get a little terrified/At the thought of letting go.” This perspective is refreshing as many of us can fall victim to the belief that we are somehow to blame for someone else’s lack of interest. Much like the mental spiraling that accompanies this thought, a whirling blend of bright guitar and drum riffs melt with soft but determined vocals to create an equally circling rhythm. With a chorus that establishes our worth and boundaries, the instrumental landscape, rather than reflecting a jumbled clash of emotions, evolves into momentum that propels us forward, beyond a relationship that holds our emotions in the past and into a future where we hold higher standards.
“For Hire” simultaneously blends storytelling with acceptance. People I’ve Met explain how a relationship eventually found closure, while finding that for a future relationship to work, there needs to be balance and a mutual level of emotional depth and effort. With only the second track after their debut song “Promise,” People I’ve Met are already discovering a modern take on the indie-rock genre that is sure to drive them towards more complex themes.
