This single. This single. Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter and producer Omar has dropped “Better Be Lucky,” and, well, I’m wrestling with a sonic octopus here. It’s electric pop, sure, but it feels like pop that’s been put through a taffy puller of conflicting emotions. Did I just think about taffy? Why? Moving on.
The central theme – that brain-scrambling push-pull of a toxic relationship fueled by frankly mind-blowing physical intimacy – hits with the subtlety of a neon sign in a dark alley. Our speaker is trapped. They know they’re being mistreated, that they are little more than an afterthought when the lights come up. It is great how authentic the storytelling feels. The song, explores those complex feelings, those human feelings. Yet, that magnetic, all-consuming connection… it keeps them tethered. Omar delivers the story with this raw, almost uncomfortably honest vocal performance. It’s like watching a tightrope walker navigate a hurricane—impressive and alarming.
There’s a real energetic bounce to the production that almost makes you want to dance this conundrum away.
And it’s this very contrast. That contrast, found in music that is as danceable as the “electric pop” this is; with such frustration in the core of the main character in the lyric; makes it such an appealing song. It’s a puzzle.
Like seeing a perfectly arranged bouquet of flowers in a dumpster – beautiful, but… why?
This song reminds me of those ancient Greek myths – the ones where someone is eternally punished, but in the most oddly specific way. Our guy here is punished with, good chemistry.
“Better Be Lucky” is not trying to offer answers. I am certain of this.
It’s presenting a messy, very human dilemma in all its glitter-covered, heartbreaking glory. It’s a frustrating truth.
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