Dove Cameron - Hello My Old Lover
Dove Cameron is not a new name for most of us, having grown up watching her on various Disney Channel programs, a lot of Gen Z has gotten to grow up with her and her sound. Nowadays, Cameron is an independent artist releasing music very distant from her Disney Channel days.
I re-discovered Cameron and a lot of her music upon the release of her last full-length album Alchemical Pt. 1, which featured a lot of her singles that were heavily promoted across social media like Boyfriend and Breakfast. This album featured a few ballads that were pretty enjoyable, but it was accompanied by lots of harder synthesized dance style music that wasn't my cup of tea. However, I wanted to stick around to see what the alleged Alchemical Pt. 2 would have to offer.
While we are still waiting on the release of her next full length album, since the release of her last one, she has made a sonic shift that has been very much appreciated. Her new releases still have that same dance-track groove, but with a twist that makes them sound much more like that of Lady Gaga or something of that likeness. There is an element to these songs that makes them easy and fun to listen to in pretty much every circumstance, which I personally didn't feel when it came to Alchemical Pt. 1.
Her two latest releases Whatever You Like and Hello My Old Lover however, are slower tracks that really showcase the gentleness of Cameron's voice which I have always found incredibly enjoyable to listen to. Not only does Cameron's voice feature a fantastic range, but she is also able to sing beautifully within a wide range of dynamics, which really enables her to be able to make all kinds of diverse tracks.
Since making her striking return to music, Cameron has also been quite public about her relationship with Damiano David, lead singer of Eurovision winning band Maneskin, and independent artist as well. David is the inspiration for a lot of Cameron's music, the case is the same for Hello My Old Lover, which details a letter written to a past lover, and how she is much happier with her current flame. This track tells the story of sadness as she doesn't want to hurt her “old lover” with the news that she is much happier now, hence the chorus “hello my old lover, I hope you'll never read this letter”.
Some of my favorite songs by Cameron ever are the more heartfelt ballads (give Sand off Alchemical Pt. 1 a listen), and this track is no different. The vocals on this track are dreamy and ethereal, with some faint reverb. The lyricism is rich and despite being relatively simple in composition, I never felt like the track was repetitive or monotonous. Something I really appreciate about Cameron's vocals on any of her tracks is that you can feel the meaning behind her songs physically when you listen to her music. Whether the track is a feminist anthem about taking your power back, owning your queerness and living open and happily, reminiscing on happy memories with your lover, or regretting past ones, you can feel the emotion within her lyrics. This is another concept that I think relates heavily to Lady Gaga, who has written many different types of songs and always sings them like she owns them. This is also something that I think is definitely fading out of the pop industry, so I'm glad to see Cameron bringing it back.
When it comes to the music behind the vocals on this track, it is a simple piano (maybe some organ?) sound that flows beautifully with the reverb. I love a good heartfelt ballad, but within pop sometimes it can feel like they all sound the same. Stripped down acoustic can only get you so far with certain tracks, and I think the elimination of a lot of that string instrument sound really adds to the rawness of this track and the emotion of this song without diminishing the quality. Because of this simple piano track, there is a lot more emphasis on the vocals, which I think is important given there are lots of runs and verses with lots of words close together, and the music doesn't blend them together and make the lyrics difficult to understand, which I think is a highly underrated quality of a song.
If you are looking for a new pop artist to get into, or you are wondering possibly what Dove Cameron has been up to since you last saw her, her music is definitely worth checking out. Since the release of her last album, Cameron has been churning out singles consistently as fans anxiously anticipate the announcement or release of her next album. If you are looking to follow along with Cameron's releases, her latest single Hello My Old Lover, along with the rest of her recently released music is available to stream everywhere!