Deanna Petcoff – ‘To Hell With You, I Love You’ (Royal Mountain Records)

By Hannah Reid

Deanna Petcoff’s debut album ‘To Hell With You, I Love You’ is a whirlwind of emotions that takes you on a trip of a 24-year old woman that is trying to get through the loss of a relationship, talking about the aggressive highs and deeply emotional lows that come when you fall out of love.

We kick off with ‘Failing Upwards’, a single that was released summer of 2021, which is an incredibly catchy song and is a perfect choice to open this album. It has quite a happy, dancy vibe to it and it sounds like something you would want to dance around your room to. Her vocals are so strong and powerful, and the music video that came out with it just shows someone having fun while singing quite sad lyrics.

‘Trash Bag’ has some more hard hitting lyrics like ‘I hope you still like me when I put my clothes on’ and ‘I think I’ll do my makeup just for you and I hope you think I’m pretty’, which she softens the slight blow in those lyrics by trying to say it light heartedly and with a bit of a laugh. ‘That’s What I Get’ is another soft sounding track which has an overall quite sad and solemn mood around it, with feelings of regret from Petcoff as she sings.

Fourth track ‘I Don’t Wanna Wake Up’ continues with this softer, slightly sadder sounding track. It feels like a very reminiscent track as you think back on the good times you’ve had with the person you once loved. ‘As Much As I Can’ is just as soft sounding, a very soothing and thoughtful tune. It’s really gentle and Petcoff’s voice sounds quite sad as she sings this little number. It’s the shortest song on the album but after hearing it, I felt quite sad and my chest felt a little bit tight.

‘Devastatingly Mediocre’ has such a pleasant and fun instrumental underneath Deanna’s vocals. It has the beat that makes you think that it’s going to be a happier song but the lyrics themselves are quite sad and there’s some frustration coming through about the guy she’s dating where they’re so normal and the bar is so low on what they expect from the relationship. ‘I wrote this song when my friend was dating the most boring guy alive,’ she explains. ‘He really was so normal, met the bare minimum of being a decent person, and yet she was infatuated with him.’ This song feels like the next step in how you’re dealing with getting over a relationship. Compared to tracks 3-5 which were quite sad, this feels like the ‘fuck it’ situation, where you just want to get out and have some fun, realising once again what you like and what you want from relationships. It’s very carefree, the sort of song you’d see in a movie where the main character would be spinning around in a field and flipping off people that had upset her. I love this one so much.

‘I Don’t Wanna Get Over You’ is an ode to moving on even when you don’t want to, reflecting on the times that have happened in the past but then accepting that that’s where those memories should stay. Next up we have ‘I Didn’t Lie’ which has such a warmth from her vocals, it sort of makes you feel safe and cosy while listening. Again, there is some sad notes from the lyrics but it feels as though a friend is giving you a hug, letting you know that it’s going to be alright.

‘If You Were Me’ is the latest single to be released from the upcoming album. It opens up on such a soft melody that draws you into the song, again the band themselves really work well and compliment Deanna’s vocals. When watching the music video to this song, there is such a stark contrast to her voice and the very gentle and soft imagery and colour palettes that are used.

Closing up the album is ‘Sing With Me’ which is a piano number with such soft vocals that are pleading the person she’s talking to to sing with her. ‘I don’t need you to know how to dance, or even know how to romance, I just want you to sing with me’ is sung with some pleading in her voice, again my chest felt like it was tightening while listening. It’s such a powerful ending to the album which took me on such an emotional rollercoaster, which I did expect, but not to this extent. It was lovely and so nice to listen to and really brought everything together beautifully.

The album itself is not just a bunch of love songs or songs about breaking up with someone, there are bits throughout which allow you to heal, laugh and be ready to love again, and that’s something that I don’t always find in this kind of music. There was something just open and fun about this album, I found myself smiling and swaying around to the music but there were also bits that made me stop and think, feel a bit sad and had a bit of a lip wobble. I loved the story telling that Petcoff was able to create as we went through all the songs, as if each part of them was the next part of the process in healing and re-finding yourself again after such a massive part of your life has ended.

The disappointing grind of dating and trying to find someone that works with you is hardly new song writing material, but throughout this album there is definitely a fresh take on what’s happening with this particular person’s love life. She really has shaped her own branding of confessional indie rock throughout this album and it was a pleasure to listen to and go through this journey with her.

‘To Hell With You, I Love You’ is released on 8 April. You can get your copy HERE.

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