Astrid Tanton makes herself at home with an imminent breakup in her single and video Comfort — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
The Toronto pop artist’s cut — which bounces between sing-songy introspection, loungey pop and pulsing dance grooves — is warm and fuzzy at the edges, despite the fact that it deals with getting dissed by someone who’s not all in. “But you are just so comforting to me,” Tanton tries to persuade herself — until she just can’t anymore. The comfort ultimately lies in the narrator’s prevailing self-respect.
The lyrics deal with a love interest who’s just looking for a late-night hookup – “You’ll text me at 1 / Then call me at 2 / I’ll be ready by 3 / Then over by 4” – but Tanton is wise to this, and tired of it. “It’s time to let you go / I can’t answer the phone,” she eventually concludes.
The corresponding video shows Tanton alone in a cozy apartment at night, with mood lighting that keeps changing colour, from purple to pink to blue to yellow to green. She has a low-key dance party by herself, on the bed, in front of the TV, and then finally on the roof in the early light. There’s an unforced evolution, with Tanton dancing with her arms raised in victory at the end, the slowly waking city behind her, a new day for the taking.
Like the rest of her EP From My Eyes, Comfort was recorded in Tanton’s bedroom due to the pandemic, which makes the video truly fitting. And the comfort that can be felt viscerally through the song is no mistake. “All my music comes from life experiences and what I genuinely feel,” Tanton says. “Whether it’s something that directly happens to me or to someone I care about deeply, I write to express and connect with people.
“I’ve always wanted my music to be that shoulder to cry on, that dance party in your bedroom, or that song you scream while driving,” she continues. “I want my music to be a reminder that you aren’t alone. And so I try to write to help myself and anyone who listens find the words that are sometimes harder just to speak.”
Watch the video for Comfort above, hear more from Astrid Tanton below, and find her at her website, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.
