It’s Hard Without You

Lavendar Diamond “I Don’t Recall”

This is a light, lovely, swooning sort of song, so the bluntness of its refrain catches you off guard: “The life we shared is gone and it’s hard without you.” There’s no room for interpretation and no attempt at embellishment; Becky Stark is telling you exactly how it is and the “you” in question just has to deal with it. And her, too – the music is pretty and poised, but it’s hard to tell whether it is an expression of grace, or the sound of a shell-shocked person trying to hold it together and keep the most agonizing feelings from showing up on the surface.

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