The Science of Overthinking: Lucia on Love and War and how they are basically the same thing

Photos by Madalyn Schaller

“I describe the songwriting process as, like, vomiting. I’ll just be there [overthinking] and all of a sudden - it’s time.”

Lucia Zambetti is a New York native who comes from a musical family - her dad is an experienced drummer, her mom is classically trained on piano, and her sister plays bass. “And so, when I became older, I was like, okay, there's only guitar left. So that's mine,” she recounts over our Zoom interview. “We kept trying to have some sort of family band situation.”

In Love & war is her debut EP that released in November of last year - a meditative exploration of the paradoxical nature of love and relationships - to yourself, to other people, whether it be platonic, romantic, or anything in between. How much of yourself are you willing to sacrifice for love? Is the connection made worth the internal battle? 

[I wanted you

I fought for you

Fought for your satisfaction

Indebted to the rest of you

But you gave me a fraction

I scarfed it down

I swallowed whole

And then I paid the bill]

“In Love & war” - Lucia

“I never really thought I deserved love. That's why I've gone through relationships where it's like this push and pull of someone who, you know, doesn't really care about you [and is] just confused in their own right.”

The human experience is rife with conflicts, whether internal or external, with friends and lovers, or between what you want and what you need. In that way, love and war are the same—a conflict of interests, of goals, of what is right and what is wrong. In Love & war is a darkly whimsical take on the neurotic nature of being in love. 

—

The EP opens with “The circus song” - a melancholic atmosphere emanating from your speakers as the ardent flame of Lucia’s voice burns steadily over the tranquil fingerpicking and drums in the background. 

The clown took my money

But I’ve got his red nose

//

I’ve got nerves and they shake

When I’m filled with sheer doubt 

And I know that I’ll be the talk of the town

‘Cause of just how precise I can paint on my frown
//

And I know that I’ll be the talk of the town

Just that sad little girl who got robbed by a clown]

“The circus song”- Lucia

Going through any relationship, friendship, romantic or not, forces a mirror up to what's going on internally because it triggers things you might not have otherwise thought about. Lucia says, “Yeah, “The circus song” is about performing. And being a character of yourself - maybe wanting to be trusting, trying to be a giver, but all [the other person] wants to do is receive.” 

With the accountability of a woman with much more life experience than you would expect from a college senior, Lucia sings haunting melodies about the ways in which each person, even if it’s herself, can contribute to the demise of a relationship.

Lucia: “‘No barracks, no men’ is talking about a relationship in the type of way where you see the other person like God, and whenever you start dating someone, your music taste changes and your interests and things like that - you think, oh my God, this person is so cool. So you start to adapt yourself to them. They dictate what [you are drawn to]. It's all about this constant battle and this constant, you know, discovery of what does it all mean?” 

[I’ve missed you so much, I can sleep, finally
I gave up on murder and failed my country

But all of it’s worth it to see you again

So no more medallions, no barracks, no men]

Meaning is subjective and ascribed haphazardly, influenced by a myriad of thoughts, emotions, preconceived notions - how you perceive the world is entirely based on every experience you have had thus far, the circumstances in which you have lived your life. “I learned a lot about myself in this process of being in a new long-term relationship– it took a lot of self-reflection. Why do I want to push people away?”

On her website, Lucia explains further, referring to her song “Wash you clean” — “I’ve been thinking about the ways in which we are broken and the ways in which we aim to fix them. This is true for me, this is true for my friends and friends who are no longer, and this may be true for you. As reflective humans with relationships, experience, and orientational goals (orienting ourselves within these frames), we fall on our swords, and fixing this brokenness becomes our purpose. We hurt ourselves and bash ourselves for being the problem.”

[Broken all your seams

I’ve got a friend with pins and needles

Does it fast and clean

You won’t feel

feel a single thing

Your eyes 

they really gleam

Only for fluorescent lights, you’re starting to get mean

Cause they brought the machine]

“Wash you clean” - Lucia

PLEASER: What do you hope audiences take from listening to your music?

LUCIA: Since technology is getting faster and faster, there are a lot of theorists who think we base our concepts of time on the speed of technology, and in that sense, we've pivoted over towards the TikTok and Instagram Reels world, which is great for a lot of things, but also, I think it's just this homogenization of identity. Everything's moving so fast, purposely. So you never really actually get to feel anything. My songs aren't written for TikTok. It takes about a minute to [understand] one full concept. So in that way, I hope people, maybe not take away, but kind of approach my music with a sense of– okay, I'm going to sit down and really listen to it.” 

You can listen to Lucia’s debut EP HERE and follow her across social media to keep up with everything in love & war.