With only a pair of EPs to her name so far, LA-based songwriter Cassidy King has already proven to be an expert at channeling her relationship misadventures into cathartic pop songs. Her latest release, “Can’t Be Friends,” is no different, with King belting her recently broken heart out over a pounding beat as she mulls over a final encounter with an ex. “I wanted answers as I felt blindsided by the breakup, and those answers never came from that person so my mind found them for me,” King recalls of a relationship that fell apart upon her moving to LA.
The song’s intense, synthy soundtrack matches the lyrics’ drama as King’s imagination runs wild. “I could not let go of the idea that they were doing the same things they did to make me fall in love with them, to someone else,” she continues. “After the relationship was over, they still wanted to feel like I was still there. It felt like they only pulled me close when they felt me pulling away but I loved them so I wanted to be there in any way they’d have me. I ended up meeting someone else while I was waiting on them and that’s when they told me we can’t be friends.”
“Can’t Be Friends” arrives with a vibrant visual directed by Charlotte Kennett (Mother Fever) that opens with a shot familiarly recreating the final scene of Call Me by Your Name before the imagined rendezvous racing through King’s mind become the focus. You can watch the video below, and if you’re in LA you can see King open for Anna of the North at the El Rey tomorrow night—find tickets here.
