In their latest release, "Guess She's Cool," Only The Poets create a rarefied window into the vulnerable aftermath of heartbreak, a faded, emotional territory where we act like we've moved on, even while reality quietly begs to differ. Co-written by Bill Maybury and Luke Fitton, and produced by DanDlion, Marcus Yates, and Clem Cherry from the band, "Guess She's Cool" has a rich shine that only bolsters its vulnerable core. Instead, it amplifies it. Every beat has a sense of purpose, and each melody lingers just long enough to allow the emotion to take hold.
A slow-burner with a melancholic feel, set against the backdrop of dark synths and sparse percussion, it encapsulates a sound that evokes the feeling of driving by yourself under city lights, playing memories that won't let you go. And, at its core is a lyric delivered by way of betrayal, "I guess she's cool, but she'll never be you." It is an admission and reveals the entire ruse, a time when avoidance encounters realization, and we find ourselves in between.
This track is so good because it takes its time and does not leap to judgment. It remains in the holes left between text messages, in the aroma of somebody who is no more, in those tentative first steps we take to finding new beginnings that don't quite fit. So it's part dream pop, glued together with alt-pop desolation, but there is an underlying tinge of hope hidden deep within the hurt. It could be the catharsis of speaking that pain aloud. Or it is simply the solace that we are not alone in having ever felt this way.
On "Guess She's Cool," Only The Poets further find their place in the realm of indie pop, one that honours storytelling, embraces openness as a source of strength, and takes heartbreak not so much as something you simply live through but, more often than not, converts into something complexly universal. It is a song for those still mending. And it echoes in the gentle voice, reminding us that we can cry even when they do not shout.
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