Breakup songs aren't supposed to be exuberant, particularly when they're conflicted, but tell that to Rachael Yamagata. In "Even If I Don't," the velvet-voiced singer crafts a tune that's as bittersweet as it is buoyant; it's a perfect paean to the pain inherent in both staying in an unhealthy relationship and letting go. More than anything, it's a postcard to lost potential — a postscript to an ideal that lingers even after reality rears its head.
The result is a refreshing change of pace from black-or-white, love-or-hate breakup songs; a song for those who've survived nasty broken relationships, only to harbor fond memories of better days. If nothing else, Yamagata's refreshingly mature refrain — "Even if I don't, I wanted to" — contains some of the kindest, bravest, most honest words to pop up in a song in a long time.
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