Shropshire native Meg Chandler released her dreamy new single “Bad Luck”, a collaboration with the Manchester duo SOAP, last Friday. Any listeners who have been unlucky in love will relate to its message. The 23-year-old singer-songwriter, who’s no stranger to vulnerable topics like this, elaborates further:
“I knew exactly what kind of song I wanted to make before even heading into the studio, an empowering anthem for anyone that finds modern dating tiresome and would rather just avoid it!”
The song starts off with a sunny instrumental and some airy background vocals. Chandler’s voice comes in clear and strong over a summery guitar and drum rhythm as she sets the scene with the lyric “I wish you weren’t so easy to get bored of”. In the pre-chorus we see her feeling almost guilty about how she feels about this person as she sings “didn’t mean to hurt you baby”.
The chorus feels defeated yet decisive as both the instrumentals and her voice go up an octave, discussing her desire to end the relationship and stating “it’s always easier to stop than to start”. A break with soft background vocals and a simple electric keyboard follows, reminiscent of the emotional silence that fills a room after the delivery of bad news.
The second verse is bolder, with her voice getting stronger and the scenarios she describes more detailed and concrete. We come into the pre-chorus more quickly now as the urgency builds. After the next chorus, the music continues as Chandler wonders what it means to feel this way. The music drops to a simple guitar strum before we head into the bridge.
Highly vulnerable, the bridge sees Chandler wonder if she’ll continue to feel like this about potential partners and dating in the future. Her voice shines over the minimal background and it continues this way through the first lyrics of the next chorus before the music kicks back in. The harmonizing background vocals behind the final chorus add emphasis to her message, driving the point home.
The song strips back down again to a soft background tune as the lyrics “I don’t know what it means to be wired like this” show us out.
“Bad Luck” is an authentic portrayal of the trials and tribulations of modern dating culture. Chandler flawlessly captures the mix of emotions that comes with knowing something needs to end. From feeling guilty about it to breaking it off and finally to wondering why it always seems to be this way (and if it will be this way forever), listeners are taken on the emotional journey with her. Chandler has indeed achieved her goal of creating a perfect anthem for those who have had “Bad Luck” in love.
