Listen: Dream Girl by Kacey Fifield

Following on from her single Left Behind, featured on BlackPlastic back in March, and EP Nostalgia Haunts Me, NY-based musician Kacey Fifield is back with her latest single, Dream Girl.

Retaining a similar affection for cinematic teen drama as Left Behind, Dream Girl is a depiction of internal yearning and insecurity. Regardless of age, we can all occasionally feel alienated as we try to slot ourselves into a particular mold, fitting a definition of what is deemed desirable and aspirational.

Fifield sings of her own mental anguish as she desperately chases outside validation, wanting the affirmation of being someone’s “dream girl”. Slick electronic melodies and fuzzy guitars paint a picture of the tension at play in Fifield’s own mind, partly sanitised and plastic, yet also bristling and messy and human.

Capping the song off is a vocal sample, which sounds like Kacey talking on the phone to a friend, presumably regaling them with her romantic escapades. As Dream Girl ends, the music drops away to briefly leave the words of the phone call exposed. In those final moments, Fifield says, “We actually broke up, so…”, and in doing so, perfectly reveals the futility of trying to make yourself different just to please someone else.

Watch: Left Behind by Kacey Fifield

With a gently strummed guitar introduction, Left Behind sees Kacey Fifield’s vocals take centre-stage from the song’s beginning. The vocal initially hooks you in, the earnest delivery exposing a trusting sense of vulnerability. It is the pulsing bass and racing melodies that kick in, approximately a quarter into the song’s duration, that set the song’s pace, however. The song creates the feeling of running to keep up, like a sprint down a hill that will only end when you either fall over, or reach the bottom.

Fifield is an acclaimed singer-songwriter, originally from Los Angeles, but now based in New York. Having released her debut album, Between The Lines, in 2022, Kacey has racked up 6.25 million plays on Spotify, with 4.5 million for the album alone. Offline, Kacey has also attracted audiences to venues that include The Whisky A Go Go, The Mind, and Heaven Can Wait. When she isn’t making music, Kacey is engaged in philanthropic endeavours that include fundraising for cancer research and supporting food sustainability, and completing her education in New York.

As a song, Left Behind is inspired by Kacey’s experience of receiving her college decisions:

‘It was the end of the year, all of my relationships felt like they were falling apart, and I was terrified of the future.’

The contrast of those heartfelt lyrics with a more upbeat sound was itself a deliberate attempt to capture the emotional contradiction of that experience:

‘This darker lyrical theme is juxtaposed with an upbeat, danceable instrumental. This pairing is meant to express the catharsis of finally letting go of my fears and recognizing that my worries are out of my control.’

Check out Left Behind below: