Ok Cowgirl brings us back into the moment with their new single, “Don’t Go”
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There’s a certain moment when one feels nostalgia prematurely—when the good times are juxtaposed with the sadness of it already being over before the end has even begun. It’s a lightning-in-a-bottle kind of moment, and it takes a special kind of familiarity with that in-between for an artist to capture it–both stylistically and lyrically. And somehow, Ok Cowgirl’s newest single “Don’t Go” does just that.
Ok Cowgirl is a Brooklyn-via-Detroit “dream rock” outfit fronted by Leah Lavigne, a biracial and bisexual woman who started the project as an dreamy testament to shedding insecurities and wholeheartedly embracing oneself, even if it goes against the grain of conformity and capitalism. The “Cowgirl” part of their name comes, of course, from the familiar mythology of the Cowboy figure as an individual who refuses to take anything from anybody; their music, similarly, has a youthful, freeing quality to it that makes one feel like the world is their oyster, like their story as themselves has just begun.
“Don’t Go” is a steady, indie rock beat led by Lavigne’s wistful vocals, with a melodic synth counterpart that expertly combines for a vintage, feel-good type of reminiscence. Though it feels upbeat, the lyrics convey the pre-nostalgia of the current moment: “Laying ‘round and wasting time with you / You keep on saying that you’re leaving someday / Is that some day soon?” A wispy take on watching time drip by through rose colored glasses, Ok Cowgirl balances the delicate in-betweens of being happy and living in the present, while still feeling blue about the ephemeral nature of it all. Even as these moments drift away, as a listener, hopefully one may also find the preciousness of the time they have, before it’s gone forever.
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Header photo by Nina Jang.
Jacob Ugalde is a writer, musician, and pasta enthusiast based in Los Angeles, California. A jack-of-all-trades kind of type, Jacob works in many different fields, from computer programming, to visual design, to film production, to music making, to whatever else he can get his hands on. His favorite musicians are Phoebe Bridgers, Carly Rae Jepsen, Vulfpeck, Luna Li, and Louie Zong, and his favorite video game is The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask. He thanks you for reading this all the way to the end!