We previously featured Watch Me Die Inside for embracing reinvention and emotional catharsis on their genre-defying finale, Infinity Fall III, so when we heard that the project was back with a cover of Johnny O‘s Fantasy Girl, we were curious to say the least, and couldn’t wait to listen and share our experience.
Watch Me Die Inside‘s re-imagining of Fantasy Girl opens with a cosmic and metallic textured synthscape with intricate detailing, expanding with a subversive and dramatic bass. There is no doubt that the track holds a cinematic allure and would be perfect for a movie like Blade or indeed Blade Runner 2049. We could also imagine the track in a film like Luc Besson’s Lucy.
The emergence of an 8-bit synth amidst the driving, alternative rock-meets-metal energy creates notions of dimensionality before we are met with the narrative-based lyrics, “The first time I saw you there in my world, I wasn’t prepared and what I witnessed from your heart, ’cause I knew, baby girl, it was ready to start, a fantasy that was oh-so true, the way I felt, girl, I knew that you and me, we were meant to be, in this world full of love, you were made for me…”
In essence the song is pretty much about falling intensely in love with the notion of this “fantasy girl”, and wanting to be with her, promising to love and treat her well. It’s rather wholesome and has this futuristic edge which is cemented by Watch Me Die Inside‘s epic production.
As a reinvention of the original song, the band shares that this time around, the song is about someone falling in love with an idealized version of a woman rather than truly seeing her as a real, independent person. This message feels more progressive and zeitgeist.
The idea is that the feelings may be genuine, but the concept of a “fantasy girl” means wanting her to fit the role he imagines for her. The band is questioning the difference between loving someone for who they actually are and loving the idea of what you want them to be. The woman herself isn’t the fantasy, the fantasy comes from the person looking at her.
It’s pretty genius overall and we love the intention behind the track. We have added Fantasy Girl to our New Music Spotlight playlist, and our TIMELESS and TRIPPY playlists, whilst we continue to stream the wider discography of Watch Me Die Inside, including Uneasy, Boring, and of course, Infinity Fall III.