In 2022,
FLETCHER
landed in the Billboard 200 Top 20 with the self-examining, self-affirming, and lovestruck
Girl of My Dreams
. On the follow-up, she struggles to pick up the pieces on the explosive turn into sadness and rejection that constitutes
In Search of the Antidote
. Some of its characteristic sentiments include lines like, "The thought of you is torture" ("Lead Me On") and "I'm burning down my world again" (opener "Maybe I Am"). Recorded with a slate of producers, including returning main producer/co-songwriter
Jennifer Decilveo
as well as
first-timers such as
Pete Nappi
(
Maroon 5
,
the Score
),
the Monsters & Strangerz
Jonas Brothers
Katy Perry
), and singer/songwriter
Jon Bellion
, it revisits familiar electro-pop territory while upping the anguish and explicit content. Essentially a set of danceable power ballads about people who get past the bouncer at the club ("You'll never f*ck somebody hotter"), it may have some cringy, bratty lyrics at first listen (catch also "Joyride"'s anthemically delivered "You were in my dreams/Now I'm in your bed"), but, supported by performances, the raw vulnerability is the point. Ultimately,
followed
into the Top 40. ~ Marcy Donelson