Just a few months ago, San Francisco born singer and songwriter Lauv released his first major project: I met you when I was 18 (the playlist.) The playlist is a collection of old and new releases that he cumulated over the past 3 years while finding his way into a career in music as a performer and not just as a songwriter and producer. The seventeen track playlist features what is essentially Lauv's entire discography, from his first release "The Other" to his inescapable hit "I Like Me Better."
Before I met you when I was 18 was even released to the world, Lauv announced and embarked on a tour of the same name to present the project in intimate venues around the world, and also to provide his fans with yet another way to use music as an emotional outlet. The singer came up with the concept of "my blue thoughts," a project where fans were able to write down whatever was on their mind and slip it into a blue box available at each show. One note that read, "I met a superhero. I lost her. I want her back," went on to become the inspiration for Lauv's newest track and first release since I met you when I was 18, "Superhero."
"Superhero" is a stripped down track about longing for an irreplaceable love that has slipped through the subject's fingers. In the beautifully made video for the track, we learn that the subject and root of the track's inspiration is a German boy named Martin who wrote the note about his Boston-based love, Diana, while he we was alone at one of Lauv's shows. As the heartbreaking story unfolds throughout the video and Martin begins coming to terms with the fact that he may not find anyone like Diana again, Lauv's harmonies flow sweetly alongside a guitar and piano tracking.
While this slowed down progression isn't one we see from Lauv often, it really only holds up for the first half of the track before his signature electronic influences slip in to leave a mark of their own. A distorted voice insists, "They say if you love her let her go / They say if it's meant to be you'll know," and the speed of the track picks up before concluding just as pleasantly as it began. Like his other releases, "Superhero" presents Lauv as an artist with a gift for weaving in and out of various production styles without sacrificing the overall quality of the track, from vocal capabilities to the stirring impact of the lyrics.
More importantly, however, "Superhero" has allowed Lauv to further build what can only be described as an intense emotional connection with his listeners, both those who submitted notes of confession in person and online. We can only hope that the singer continues to build these connections on whatever future project "Superhero" comes to be apart of.
