The mere accusation of sexual infidelity can be a trigger for rage, violence, and even domestic abuse. On “I Don't Want U Back” - the third single from Michigan-born electro-pop singer BØRNS’ sophomore album Blue Madonna (2018) - Garrett Borns avoids the expected anger and bitterness that one might expect from someone with a lover that is ‘coming to bed at four in the morning’ and changing her story each time she faces an inquiry. (Ever the aesthete, Borns hears his romantic rival’s ‘Sparkomatic’, instead of his engine).
He tells us that ‘Heartbeats/ Are made of honesty’, but the lyrics insist that the head prevails over the heart. A year passes, and BØRNS finds his ‘heart nearly busted’ at the sight of his erstwhile lover in a disco (where else would a singer inspired by glam rock be?). With his slightly androgynous falsetto, Borns spellbindingly evokes separation anxiety with an equal measure of self-restraint: ‘I should’ve known better but the liquor got me thinking I miss ya/ I should’ve taken two steps back but I wanted to kiss ya/ Every time you flash those eyes you make me reminisce ya/ You’re looking fine, but I’d be lying, if I said I wanted you back’.
British producer Tommy English (Ladyhawke, 5 Seconds of Summer) dresses BØRNS’ aestheticized message of self-respect with soft and fuzzy synths (especially when compared to the album’s boisterous lead single “Faded Heart”). At the end of the day, this is a man who previously named his debut album Dopamine - he will undoubtedly live to love again. There might be a layer of hurt and melancholy pervading the track, but it also features an insistent momentum and an unwavering conviction: ‘It’s sad to say, I’m glad you left/ I don’t want you back’.
