Single reviewsThe Other Side Reviews

Chloe & The Brainwaves – Can’t You Love Us The Same? (2024)

Regardless of age, gender, nationality, creed, or anything that might separate us from another, one issue remains constant – the need to fit in. Seeking originality amidst a whirlpool of the norm is like kaleidoscopic tinges drowned in grey reality. Finding the delicate line between individuality and conforming is complex; a need for acceptance as others are accepted but still standing out on your own. Mind-boggling in its intricacy, but Chloe & The Brainwaves capture this core in their new single ‘Can’t You Love Us The Same?’

Following on from the well-received single ‘Mind Running Wild’, ‘Can’t You Love Us The Same?’ continues the recognition of shame, the need for acceptance and the yearning to belong while retaining individuality. ‘Mind Running Wild’ captured a glimmer of hope for victims who feel alone, ‘Can’t You Love Us The Same?’ questions why being different should impact acceptance, unity and the sense of one-ness. Vocalist Chloe Gardner explains:

“’Can’t You Love Us The Same?’ hits close to home for me. It’s all about the frustration and hurt of never feeling like I’m the favourite, always feeling like I fall short in the eyes of others. Throughout the song, there’s a constant undercurrent of not feeling good enough… It’s a raw expression of longing to be treated equally and to be valued for who I am without being compared to others….”

Recorded at Metronome Studios in Nottingham with Steve Grainger and Oli Porter, mastering by Grant Berry, Chloe & The Brainwaves fuse alternative rock elements with hard rock intensity. A heavy mixture of Alex Baker’s crashing drums, Lewis Cooke’s bold bass, Michael Potts’ hard-hitting guitar, and Gardner’s woeful vocals, you find yourself lost in a vortex of sound tossed from one side to the other. Interestingly, while the melody offers a sense of desperate angst and vulnerability, an underlying hint of rage flutters through the tune; an intricate interplay between needing to be accepted and desire for individuality.

For me, ‘Can’t You Love Us The Same?’ is an intimate song bound by heart-breaking, gut-wrenching, soul-stirring sounds; however, it is the lyricism that ups the ante on a profound, almost philosophical level. Penned by Chloe Gardner and Michael Potts, the single line “Being is bare” cuts like a knife expressing vivid starkness in a world of hazy kaleidoscopic fog.



Find out more about Chloe & The Brainwaves on their Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Spotify.

This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator


Listen to more alternative rock music on The Other Side Reviews Alternative Rock playlist: