It’s been almost four weeks since the incredible Ava Valianti released her Sophomore Slump EP, so naturally, we wanted to dig a bit deeper and spotlight her latest single, Great Pretender, which serves as the final track on the record.
Great Pretender opens with a shimmering and meditative energy, expanding into a luscious and immersive guitar soundscape as Ava sings, “Nervous glances, second chances, you never even knew I gave you, run your fingers through my hair and I pretend it’s what I’m into…”
Immediately we are enamoured by the raw vulnerability that transmutes. Great Pretender feels like an unreleased song from Lana Del Rey‘s iconic album, Norman F*cking Rockwell. The build is sublime and Ava’s emotional quotient is absolutely hypnotic.
We appreciate the tempo shift as the song evolves, and as for the message, Great Pretender is about being trapped in a relationship where we are pretending to be in love or okay, even as we recognize the relationship is failing.
It’s about how we hide our true feelings and go along with the intimacy that we don’t really want. It is an example of how we wrestle with the conflict between our own needs and our partner’s emotions. The repeated imagery of standing on the edge of a cliff suggests a gradual loss of trust, and the inevitable pain of being hurt.
As with a lot of Ava’s deeply personal cuts, there are moments of hope and salvation – as we know, she contains multitudes. Flowers can grow in prison walls indeed, and we accept that the love we once had was an illusion. The mutual realization makes the breakup feel tragic, inevitable and quietly heartbreaking. It’s perfect for a TV show like Buffy The Vampire Slayer, and we could see Ava performing the song at The Bronze, or perhaps opening for Olivia Rodrigo or Lana Del Rey on tour.
Speaking on the release, Ava tells us, “Great Pretender is about staying in something longer than you should, and kind of knowing the whole time how it’s going to end, but not being ready to admit it yet. It’s that feeling of going through the motions, saying yes when you mean maybe, or pretending something feels right because you want it to. There’s a line in the song, “I pretend it’s what I’m into…”, and that’s really the core of it. It’s not even about lying to someone else as much as it is trying to convince yourself.”
She adds, “Sonically, it’s more stripped back than some of the other songs on the EP, but the electric guitar gives it this underlying tension that keeps building. It felt right for the last track because it’s not a big dramatic ending, it’s quieter, more like acceptance.”
We love the depth of Great Pretender, and have added the song to our playlists, whilst we continue to stream the entirety of Sophomore Slump, and anticipate a new era from the rising artist!