With her debut album out in a weeks time, Sasha Sloan has dropped one of her most surprising and contrastingly different tracks yet. If you’ve been following the Californian singer-songwriter’s career for a little while now, when you read the title ‘Hypochondriac’ you probably imagined a self deprecating song all about anxiety, filled with humorous little jabs at her health. But instead she pulls the rug from underneath us, and delivers a straight up love song about her boyfriend. It’s one of the first times we’ve heard her be vulnerable in this light, and it’s quite mature and interesting to hear her songwriting evolve in that way.
Reflecting on the disregard she had for herself before meeting him, she compares the change in attitude she had once he entered her life. Explaining that he’s made her a hypochondriac, she is now scared of getting sick, or something happening that will see her lose him. “Now I call my doctor every day. Since I met you, something in me’s changed. Second that you called me yours, I had something worth living for. Now I’m scared of planes and heart attacks. If I die, I’ll never get you back. You made me a hypochondriac” she honestly sings during the chorus.
It’s a very romantic concept that in some ways is classic Sasha Sloan because there is a self-deprecating layer to it, but it’s also one of the most vulnerable she’s been for such different reasons. To compliment the intimacy, the production is completely stripped back with just an acoustic guitar and simple atmospheric pop beats, while her soft vocals sing over the top. Holding back from overcomplicating it, she just delivers her heart so honestly, and that’s what makes this song so captivating.
This is a special song that immediately feels tender, raw and vulnerable. It’s easily one of my favourite songs she’s ever released, which is interesting because I didn’t think a Sasha Sloan love song would be something I’d connect to in the very single state I’m in. But here we are.