Deanna Petcoff Shares ‘Devastatingly Mediocre’
he word that jumps to mind when hearing her music for the first time is “yearning”. A whirlwind of emotions, her debut record To Hell With You, I Love You is a reckoning with the loss of a relationship, documenting the aggressive highs and deeply emotional lows that come from falling out of love.
Written about how dating can be mundane, Petcoff says about the new single: "I wrote this song when my friend was dating the most boring guy alive. He really was so normal, met the bare minimum of being a decent person, and yet she was so infatuated with him. At first I wrote this as a joke because I always called him devastatingly mediocre just to tease her, but when I showed it to my band they loved it and we decided to make it something real. I think it actually holds a lot of meaning for a lot of people-- it's so easy to fall in love with someone just because you want to be in love, regardless of whether or not it really works."
The playful video was directed by Michael Pugacewicz and Paige Foskett, where they said, "We wanted to capture the essence of repeating a vicious cycle with dating - how easy and relatable it is to keep dating the same person over and over until you learn whatever lesson you’re supposed to learn. We felt like this song really begged us to lean into the campy early 2000’s Avril Lavigne skater boy visuals, including the use of a handy cam to elevate the timelessness of this type of love interest, especially since we are seeing a comeback of this era. It was fun for us to put Deanna on a pedestal and give her the power in this video."
Recorded in Toronto over the course of a year, Deanna was able to look more closely at the nuances and minutiae of relationships and examine the ways in which they can either grow or falter. She writes about her frustrating experiences as a 24-year old woman finding her voice and identity while navigating an ever changing world, exploring the ins and outs of love and heartbreak with a grace and quick wit that belies her year. Her rich, textured voice juxtaposes her soft imagery and her vulnerable and starkly honest lyrics welcome us into a world where even a fleeting moment of emotion can become its own monument.
On To Hell With You, I Love You, a sense of intense longing reveals a worldview that is full of pain at the loss of love, and full of hope for something more beautiful. It is not simply a breakup record. It’s an album to heal to, to cry to, to laugh to and to learn how to love again. It’s a declaration of strength, and a love letter to the joys and agonies of navigating your early twenties.
