SINGLE REVIEW: PIEN - ADDICTED TO THE STRUGGLE
It is always exciting seeing an artist develop and over the last year or so, one artist we've had a journey with is UK/Dutch based Pien. As each single has dropped, she has become ever more fascinating, her sound is never dull, she has country sensibilities, yet with an indy streak running through it. Her subject matter is never mundane, whatever you get it will undoubtedly come from the heart.
Even her cover pictures seem to leave a baffling trail of clues, for this one she appears to be laying on a rug, her head resting on a coat. A mandolin lays close to her head, while a record lays within reach, out of its sleeve. Pien herself looks slightly perturbed as if someone or something has disturbed her. Quite how it relates to the single is anyone's guess but it makes a neat talking point!
The mystery follows through into the introduction, there's the faint sound of electronica creating a mood, over which there's an acoustic guitar.
"I know they can smell it, it's hanging in the air
Maybe I'm unlucky, or they just don't care
They know where to find me, running all over town
Painting grasses greener while looking like a clown
It's what I'm used to, it's not okay
but I don't know what to say"
It's a somewhat dark opening, and so it might surprise that it comes attached to a delightfully catchy chorus, which is counterbalanced by Pien's conclusions that maybe she's "Addicted To The Struggle" to succeed and is willing to accept the abuse that comes with this burning desire.
"I'm addicted to the struggle, longing for the pain
Hand me the bottle, it won't up in the drain
I'm addicted to the feeling, of slowly driving insane
Give me all you bullshit, I'll be the last one to remain"
There's an undoubted sense of defiance, a drive to succeed at all costs, no matter what is thrown at her, however as the second verse portrays , the world of knock backs comes at a personal cost.
"They throw their eggs and rocks and kick me to the dirt
With all my hopes and dreams, that one really hurt
While I put on a big bright smile and be a good girl
All I want is a place in this world"
By the time of the bridge there is almost a horrid acceptance, that this is somehow the expected norm and one wonders of the toll that this must take.
"Here I am with open arms for you to spit in my face
Here I am with all my charms for you to take them from me"
The closing section with Pien crying "I'm addicted to" repeatedly, only goes to enforce that this is not a battle she ready to relinquish yet.
The single comes with a low budget video that manages to convey all the emotions of the song in a highly effective way. It sees Pien. bedecked in a cowboy hat and checked shirt, against a backdrop of moving Americana desert images. There is a look Pien gives as she says the lines "It's not ok" that says so much, while her dancing gives that Madonna line "Only when I'm dancing can I feel this free" real substance.
