Heavy acoustics line the background for the soft, but striking vocals delivered by lead singer Ella Norris in the new single by The Nancys, “Not The One.”
A song about being bad at love, “Not The One” captures the emotional frustration of wanting to be with someone so bad, but the differences between you feel boundless.
“Staring at the wall, what do you see / I tried to be good, it’s not for me,” Norris sings.
The Nancys first conspired in Gainesville, Fl., while attending the the University of Florida. They surpassed your average college band when their debut EP boasted over 270,000 streams this past year. Now, they’re taking the reins of the Florida indie-rock scene with “Not The One,” an emotional, but still true to its rock ‘n’ roll core single.
“Not The One” is an impressive blending of genres. Right when the slow acoustic beginning leads you to think you’re going to be listening to a sad breakup song, The Nancys pull you out of it and transport you into a world of grungy riffs and beats, backed by Theo Lorenzen on guitar and Shane Barrera on drums.
The sound is reminiscent of indie love songs by The Backseat Lovers, mixed with the vocal range and melancholic ambiance of Crumb. Norris’s voice is demure yet bold, much like Julianna Hatfield.
“Hold it against me / I’m not the one,” she sings.
Norris writes from a perspective that makes the listener feel like an outsider looking in; like you’re watching the little details of a relationship in movie-form on a film reel.
“Taxi driver taking me home / Looking out the window / Thank God I’m not alone / Wherever you go / Well, there you are” goes into “Drink off what I can’t un-say at the bar.”
“Not The One,” is raw, and it sings about emotional intimacy. Listening through every lyric feels so relatable to love in your twenties. The mix of instrumentals also play into this. The acoustic guitar speaks for the bittersweet moments of love.
“Race you to the edge of the pool / Thinking to myself that this is so high school.”
The acoustic then builds up, breaking with emphatic drum beats and guitar strums, which feels like the fire and the rage and the frustration that can come with a relationship.
As a whole, “Not The One” is a single that is true to The Nancys style and form. The instrumentals mix soft indie-rock and grunge while the lyrics pull from personal, yet relatable experiences. This song sets them out not only in Florida’s scene, but also has the potential to catapult them into the next stage of their career.
The Nancys recently embarked on a mini fall tour around Florida with two stops in New York. They also announced an extremely limited intimate show at their own house for just $5 set for Dec. 6.
Contrary to the song’s title, this band is The One for you.
Keep up with The Nancy’s:
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube / Website / Instagram
Crave Music Magazine 