Not that many women in and out of the music industry wanted to discuss taboo topics with a personal, straightforward, and head-on approach, but Mary Middlefield wasn’t molded from the same mold that most of these people came from. With her new EP Poetry (for the scorned and the lonely) released last April 26, 2024, Middlefield talks about the themes of abuse in relationships and the feeling of isolation that comes with it. It discusses darker elements of love and lust ― after crafting songs about unrequited love.
Poetry opens up with the electrifying and angsty track, Sexless. This track talks about how hard it is to love, make love, and receive love from people, both men and women, but instead, falls into the trap of abusers and groomers. “My ego’s big, my patience small.” is a very relatable line from the song, because sometimes when we seek companionship and validation, we tend to be impatient yet picky, a behavior that is so human. It was a really good song to listen to if you’re feeling angsty and hollow, drowning yourself in the feels.
Atlantis is a slower track compared to the song it was next in line with. The opening line of it is “If you were the ocean, I would drown myself in you.” which serves as a premonition for the latter part of the song that this is going to be about a toxic attachment in the relationship. It takes us to the thoughts of the persona and the degree they’re willing to do for the love of their life. In an instrumental interlude entitled Allodynia perfectly captures the sad, the bad, and the beauty of engaging in relationships. In the twenty-seven-second clip, it makes me feel the complications one has to go through in finding connections and love in this complicated world.
The fourth track is entitled Heart’s Desire. Heart’s Desire talks about one’s partner’s nonchalance and the imbalance of romance in the relationship. How intense one of the partner’s love is while the other can’t even feel an inkling of it. It shows how confusing it is to act given the situation. The mixing and instrumentals heightened the intense feelings the lyricism of the song wanted to portray. It gives the vibe of how in an unfit relationship, a power imbalance will always show along the timeline of the relationship, and that makes it push one of the people involved to the verge of asking for a breakup.
Love me, Love me not? is a very straightforward track. It is the calmer version of Heart’s Desire, but the lyricism on this song is far more intense because it explores the concept of having a future with a person who possibly didn’t love you. It also uses the game effeuiller la marguerite as a metaphor for the themes of uncertainty, yet still holding on to hope that the other one might return the same intense feelings soon when they get married, have kids, and grow old together.
The sixth track surprises us yet again with a more alternative rock approach in the form of Young and Dumb. In this track, Middlefield talks about the manipulation in relationship with the line, “I give you every single piece of me, you used them to destroy me.” The theme of gaslighting is also strong in this one. The way it was written is that the persona gave their everything to their partner yet, at the end of the day, it was all blamed on them. Instead of
loving them unconditionally, they became a victim, hence young and dumb as its title.
An acoustic track entitled Last Letter was accompanied by a solemn and melancholic melody. Along the strums of the guitar, Middlefield sings about looking out for a friend, who might have also had the same experience in love and what goes beyond that, and subtly asking that friend to also look out for them. It was a really sad song to listen to because it is in its rawest form.
For Poetry’s last song is the one with the same title, Poetry. This song is an emotional piece that bares the broken and ugly side of the persona, they’re telling how much they were hurt despite loving loyally and truthfully, and that no matter what lengths they go, the person will never open up to them. This song illustrated and concluded what was told in the past songs, wrapped with a ribbon on top. It is a poetic way of telling someone that they’re a victim of
love, a martyr for someone who will never radiate the energy that the persona had given.
This EP was released by Mary Middlefield to empathize with those who are still trying
to move on from a past relationship, may it be a clean or damning breakup, this
album will still be a good company in your down days. Let this album be a place
for people who are lonely, scorned, and stuck. You are invited to join Mary in her screams, yearnings, and sufferings.
Make sure to check Mary Middlefield’s new EP and follow her on all music streaming platforms and social media accounts.
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About the Author
Angel Mariah Rodiel – Mari to the people she’s fond of – is a BA Literature student currently studying in Central Luzon State University. Writing, arts, and music are some of the things she’s been most passionate about ever since she was a kid. Mari’s little dream is to build a band that will open for Paramore’s concert someday. Pop-punk and alternative rock are her comfort music genres, K-pop and J-rock comes close as third and fourth.
