Charlottesville, Virginia based artist Kristen Rae Bowden goes from earth-tones to neon with her new single “Hard to Love”. Recorded at Dave Matthews Band’s Haunted Hollow studio with Joe Lawlor (Egypt, DMB), Tevis Marshall, Dane Alderson (Yellowjackets), Nate Brown (Everything), and Rob Evans (DMB), Bowden’s first toe-dip into indie pop is a love letter to all the cynical and jaded dreamers. Released on Valentines Day as an ironic eye-roll at commercial romance, “Hard to Love” expresses the cynicism that shelters a broken heart after a breakup. Sparsely and with a hint of humor, she writes of her impulse to push new lovers away: “Here I go again / see me trying / to squeeze from the middle / so I’ll be alone again.” The track features a steady heartbeat of muted electronic drums, a vintage-y analogue synth, Lawlor’s smooth guitar, and Bowden’s layered harmonies on the anthemic chorus. In the end it’s the music, not the lyrics, that assures us she’ll fall in love again. And in the process we hear a reminder we all need from time to time… that it takes a lot of bravery to be truly vulnerable.