Indie-pop singer Cloe Wilder is back with a new single “We’re Not Special.” The slyly psychedelic, atmospheric song is steeped in acoustic guitar and plenty of reverb. Penned by Cloe and co-writer and producer Sam Nicolosi, the lyrics paint a wistful picture of everyday life—specifically the mundanity—as the singer opens with “Oh my love / Heaven waits for no one / We’re not special.”
“I love presenting certain topics that are a bit elusive and mysterious,” says Cloe. “I never have a set message for anybody and leave the interpretation of the lyrics to others.” Heavily influenced by artists like Lana Del Rey and Phoebe Bridgers, along with Sasha Sloan, and Lennon Stella, the 15-year-old singer-songwriter incites emotion and vulnerability, wrapping her stories with subtle angst and haunting melodies.
“‘We’re Not Special’ is written as if I’m speaking to this person about all of the reasons why we’re exactly like everyone else. There’s nothing we can say or do that will give us a better shot at this. It’s this complicated mess that makes us hurt. Maintaining relationships can feel so useless to me sometimes. Nothing feels special yet I think it’s okay to embrace that—the mundanity of it all.”
Written and tracked in one day, Cloe says the song came together seamlessly. “The day before, Sam and I were messing around with similar chord progressions and we had three lines: ‘Let’s all get wasted /Act like we’re famous / Shut up and fake it.’ At first, we presented it in a different way but I didn’t love where it was going, so the next day he started playing this really pretty intro that we ended up keeping on the song. He sang the first melody, I sat down and it unfolded organically. From there ‘We’re Not Special’ wrote itself.”
Sonically, the song contributes to the aesthetic elements Cloe loves. “It’s earthy, acoustic, my vocals are drenched in reverb, there are some lyrics doubled for harmonies, and it just has this kind of a messy vibe. I feel all of this really worked for the song.”
To celebrate the release of the new single, the rising star has debuted a new music video for “We’re Not Special,” also released today. Filmed at The Cowboy Palace Saloon in California, the video was directed by Jesse DeFlorio.