Mending heartbreak and moving on is one of life’s most difficult challenges. In her new song, “Don’t Call Anymore,” Ava McCoy wonders if cutting all lines of communication with her ex-love is the right course of action in her healing.
Think for a moment about what you say when your best friend gets their heart broken. Your advice probably includes some of these infamous statements:
“Unfollow them.”
“Block them.”
“Delete their number.”
“Throw all their stuff away.”
But we all know those things are easier said than done. When you’re on the other side of this advice, it feels like an oversimplification of the situation. You want to do it, but you just can’t for some reason.
This is the dialogue McCoy is having with herself. She’s aware that she cares more about her ex than she should, and she’s toying with the idea of just dropping them like they never happened. All advice from friends supports this idea, but letting go of that shared history can be devastating. In the bedroom pop-inspired folk tune, she revisits some of her favorite moments with her ex as she convinces herself that those things don’t exist anymore in an attempt to completely move on. It’s raw and vulnerable as she gets specific with her memories, like their favorite smoke spot and the jokes they used to laugh at.
Then she starts to wonder what her ex is up to, and she tells herself how wondering won’t help her heal. It’s a fantastic lyrical exploration of the heartbroken mind– you think about things you shouldn’t, and you know you shouldn’t, but you can’t stop. It’s a giant cycle you have to break at some point, but it’s overwhelming to figure out where to start. For McCoy? She’s going to tell her ex not to call anymore.
Musically, “Don’t Call Anymore” is simple and cathartic. As the first song McCoy recorded entirely by herself, you can feel the weight lift off her shoulders as she sings. It truly sounds like you’re hearing her sing this very vulnerable song in the comfort and privacy of her bedroom– like you’re intruding on her personal life. It’s genuine, heartfelt, and fervent.
Ava McCoy is the New York City-based singer/songwriter that fuses the unlikely sounds of dreampop and folk together. Singing over acoustic guitars and bedroom pop beats, there’s a dreamlike quality to her sound that’s most intriguing to the ear. It lifts you up into the clouds and takes you on a tour of the most personal crevices of her mind, then lets you back down gently with something to think about. Since her debut single “Moat” was released in 2020, she has dropped four more songs, and we’re already hungry for more.
Written by Jess Ward