Ava Max’s Pop Psychology: The Dualism Of Dancing Through Tears
Ava Max ditching her signature asymmetric haircut this year in favor of a fire-red shag, and her mirrored album and song titles (Heaven and Hell, “Sweet But Psycho” “Kings and Queens,” Diamonds & Dancefloors) are proof one thing is certain: the singer-songwriter’s propensity for duality.
So much so that, come heaven, hell or high water, heartbreak be damned, you’ll be dancing.
Max rose to international prominence in 2018 with the release of ‘Sweet but Psycho,’ an upbeat, synth-laden dance-pop track, with the title inspired, as she told PaperMag in 2020, by an adage her parents told her when she was a young child.
The song peaked at 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and at number 1 in 22 countries, including the UK. Lyrically and visually in the accompanying music video, the song exemplifies a woman (satirically in some ways, to an extent) fearless of being unabashedly herself.
The song itself has duality in its expression and reception, with the title acknowledging a childhood criticism and ultimately flipping the message to exude strength and positivity. It pokes fun at itself without being too self-deprecating or self-important…moreover, the pop production is absolutely stellar.
Sonically, Max amalgamates her tour-de-force vocals (she’s a mezzo-soprano with a C#5-B6 range) with the modern pop sensibilities of Ariana Grande, Carly Rae Jepsen, Charli XCX, and Dua Lipa, tipping a lyrical hat to Robyn and Lily Allen by juxtaposing melancholic themes with dancy, upbeat instrumentals/production elements — often in the vein of EDM icons Tiësto (whom she collaborated with on ‘The Motto’) Galantis, Cascada and David Guetta.
Despite these powerhouse elements and smash hit with ‘Sweet but Psycho,’ Heaven and Hell had a lukewarm showing in the US, peaking at 27 on the Billboard 200. Perhaps due to its release in the middle of COVID, when all clubs were forced to close, and nearly all of us were in a perpetual state of ennui? The duality of an underrated club album being released to chain-locked doors and Footloose-Esque dance bans goes without saying.
The world, quite simply, perhaps, just wasn’t ready.
Flash forward three years, and her follow-up, Diamonds & Dancefloors, is prepared to take the world by storm, this time with the world caught up.
The album is designed to “make you cry and dance at the same time…basically, heartbreak on the dancefloor,” Max told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe.
‘Weapons,’ the third single from the album, bursts forth with prowess and assuredness — an electric, disco-fueled empowerment ballad akin to Pat Benetar’s “Love Is A Battlefield.”
Stop using your words as weapons
They’rе never gonna shoot me down
Stop, it’s time that you learned a lesson
My love is gonna drown you out
You wanna fight? Do you wanna dance?
’Cause tonight might be the only chance
LISTEN TO ‘WEAPONS’ HERE:
‘Dancing’s Done,’ the fourth single released in late December, takes a slightly different turn, with Max proving once again duality is her constant: opening with layered harmonies and gentle synth, the song crescendos at the bridge into an alluring, dark, tempting and all-around sexy dance track.
Musically, the single beautifully fuses the power-pop of Madonna’s ‘Hung Up’ with the harmonic wistfulness of Fleet Foxes’ ‘Can I Believe You.’
I wanna give into your dark temptation
I wanna touch you like nobody does, oh
People like you and me were born to run
So where we going when the dancing’s done?
WATCH AND LISTEN TO ‘DANCING’S DONE’ HERE:
As I was writing this piece, I refreshed my Instagram feed to find that Max had dropped another single in a beautiful moment of serendipity.
‘One Of Us,’ is a bittersweet anthem about a relationship gone sour. Drenched in synth, highlighted by Max’s (surprise!) whistle tone and bass-boosted to get you to bop in your car or at the club without completely masking the gut-wrenching, emotionally stricken lyrics, the track is melancholic pop perfection.
Thematically, it feels like the predecessor to Lorde’s ‘Green Light,’ the latter dealing with the prolonged heartache after the breakup, while ‘One Of Us’ is more vindicating, the power in realizing that the other person isn’t as invested & knowing it’s time to cut the ties to save yourself.
One of us would die for love
One of us would give it up
One of us would risk it all
One of us won’t even call
One of us could say goodbye
Never even bat an eye
One of us is hurting you
And baby, that’s the last thing that I wanna do
LISTEN TO ‘ONE OF US’ HERE:
Four singles down, and needless to say, Diamonds & Dancefloors is looking like no sophomore slump..instead, Ava Max’s comeback of the year.
