American singer-songwriter Lissie's latest track “Boyfriend" operates in the same thematic territory as her critically acclaimed third album My Wild West (2016), which was recorded after she moved from California to the 10-acre farm in northeast Iowa that she purchased in 2015. The track delineates the characteristics she is looking for in a soulmate, a "coming-from-the-heart man" who will live in the idllyic heartland environment that she's carved for herself:
“This song came very naturally and quickly as I was writing with longtime collaborator Martin Craft and the brilliant Liam Howe. It was interesting to be laying almost country like lyrics, reflecting my farmlife in Iowa, atop a very sultry, smooth and what I think is a pretty hip track! I hope people can appreciate a bit of a different sonic quality from me as I get ready to share an album that will be a bit of a fresh, new sound.”
Lissie, Paste
Her melodic lyricism traffics in the kind of descriptions and details that would appeal to any fan of Henry David Thoreau or Wendell Berry. There's 'bird calling, water falling, dreams in the sunshine', the heady promises of 'drinking red wine in the summertime' and mentions of 'sun tan and Steely Dan'. While the lyrics may be a good fit for many country tracks, the song's laidback production uses a breezy folk-rock template instead - thus reimagining an idealized vision of a harmonic life with nature for a new generation.
