Art School Girlfriend is an atmospheric electronic project from musician an… Read Full Bio ↴Art School Girlfriend is an atmospheric electronic project from musician and singer/songwriter Polly Mackey. After spending the early 2010s as part of textural shoegaze outfit Deaf Club, Mackey transitioned to a more synth-friendly approach with her solo work, finding her voice on several EPs and miscellaneous releases, and honing her ambient pop sound on her full-length albums Is It Light Where You Are and Soft Landing.

Hailing from Wrexham, North Wales, Mackey developed a taste for the work of artists like PJ Harvey and the Jesus & Mary Chain, as well as various new wave and shoegaze acts. After playing in various bands, including Deaf Club, she relocated to London where she lived for five years before settling in Margate, Kent. There she began writing her own songs -- inspired by her own experiences as well as the written works of Virginia Woolf and Milan Kundera -- and began listening to more electronic music from artists like John Maus and Caribou. Opting for the moniker "Art School Girlfriend," her songs caught the attention of Grammy Award-winning producer Paul Epworth (Florence + the Machine, Adele) and she signed with his label, Wolf Tone Records, in 2017. Her debut EP, Measures, followed later that year and Mackey promoted the release with live performances around the U.K. in 2018. A second EP, Into the Blue Hour, was released in 2018, and various remixes and standalone tracks followed over the next two years. The first Art School Girlfriend album, Is It Light Where You Are, came out on Wolf Tone Records in September of 2021, and was accompanied by companion piece Is It Dark Where You Are, a collection of remixes including work from Baltra, Jessica Winter, Blankson, and others, released in 2022. Sophomore album Soft Landing was released in August of 2023, created with the help of co-producer Riley MacIntyre and British songwriter Marika Hackman.

Distance
Art School Girlfriend Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

The two minds
Of mine
Howling again
It wakes me up

I lie
Outside the
Moonlit stress

To pick me up

Lately I am in over my head
Lay me out to watch the sun instead

Say how that it's different
You hide, I stay
The winter's rough

I move to a distance
Here comes a wave
To wash you off

(You are, you are, you are)

Lately I am in over my head
Lay me out to watch the sun instead

Lately I am in over my

I move to a distance (Lay me out to watch the sun instead)
I move to a distance
Say how that it's different
Say how that it's different
I move to a distance (Lay me out to watch the sun instead)
I move to a distance
Say how that it's different
Here comes a wave

(Lay me out to watch the sun instead)

Overall Meaning

In "Distance" by Art School Girlfriend, the singer is wrestling with two conflicting thoughts. There are "two minds" inside of her, and they are "howling again," causing her to wake up. She seeks solace outside under the "moonlit stress" to calm herself. However, despite her efforts to find peace, the singer feels overwhelmed and admits that she is "in over [her] head." She longs to escape, to be laid out in the sun to recharge.

The chorus reveals that the distance sought by the singer is not just physical but also emotional. She needs to step back from a situation, perhaps a relationship ("you hide, I stay"), that has become difficult and painful ("the winter's rough"). The singer wants to wash away the hurt like a wave, to move on to something "different." However, despite acknowledging the need for change, she is still caught in the cycle of pain and seeks the safety of distance repeatedly.

"Distance" is a song that delves deeply into the emotional and mental struggle of dealing with difficult situations. There is a poignant sadness in the singer's voice, as she wistfully dreams of escaping to the sun, to a place where she can find peace. The use of imagery, especially the contrast between the moon and the sun, the howling of conflicting thoughts, and the waves washing her away, create a visceral sense of the singer's emotions. The chorus is particularly affecting, expressing the desire to distance oneself from a toxic situation, while still admitting to the pain that comes from the separation.

Line by Line Meaning

The two minds
My conflicting thoughts within me

Of mine
That exist within my mind

Howling again
Are causing me emotional distress

It wakes me up
I am unable to sleep due to them

I lie
I try to rest

Outside the
Away from the problems

Moonlit stress
The overwhelming feeling of anxiety

To pick me up
To find some solace

Lately I am in over my head
Recently, I've been feeling overwhelmed

Lay me out to watch the sun instead
Help me find peace by watching the sunrise

Say how that it's different
Explain to me how things have changed