Maya Hawke is uniquely brilliant on ‘Missing Out’
There’s a distinct magic in hearing your own name in a song. “Lucy wants to write the next great American novel,” Maya Hawke sings as the opening line of her new track, and I’m immediately invested. But if your name doesn’t happen to be Lucy, her wistful storytelling style will quickly win you over anyway, or at least make you contemplate a name change.
Over recent years, Hawke has revealed herself to be a true all round creative. It’s hard to think of any possible “for fans of” comments because Hawke feels peerless. Singles like ‘Therese’ and ‘Sweet Tooth’ are folkish but in a distinctly fairytale world. They’re imbued with darkness and mystery, just as her 2022 album MOSS felt full of myth and grand visions from her lyricism to the music videos.
Returning in 2024, Hawke is firmly back in this realm in ‘Missing Out’ as she looks around her terrain with considered contemplation and just the right amount of cynicism. Her unique vocals feel custom made to draw all your attention to exactly what she’s saying. While untethered to direct artists as sources of inspiration, she sits in a lineage of women with stories to share and beautiful voices to tell them; Carole King, Regina Spektor, Lucy Dacus.
Marking the change from her album to now, ‘Missing Out’ shrugs off the folkiness for something more blues inspired as rich slide guitars punctuate her phrasing while a pop beat carries you through with something to move to. Inspired by a trip to a college town, Hawke has somehow bottled the feeling of being 19 and optimistic, contrasted with being 25 and jaded.
Considering her place in the world without feeling the need to shy away from the fact or hide that she is well, famous, she allows her lens to be a unique one. “I buy booze for the Ivy League with my television salary, they think they look up to me, ha,” Hawke sings in a stinging one liner.
Maybe ‘Missing Out’ isn’t meant to be relatable. In all of her music, Hawke seems to gravitate towards the deeply specific, not asking her listener to nod in understanding but instead just take a step into her world.
“I’ve been someone to talk about, I wanna be someone to talk to,” she says. Who knew a song about the drawbacks of success could be so endearing? But when sung by Hawke, it’s impossible to not indulge in it.
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