Fletcher - Would You Still Love Me If You Really Knew Me? (Album Review)
Thursday, 24 July 2025
Written by Issy Herring
Photo: Carissa Gallo
Cari Fletcher has become a queer icon during the course of the past decade, her debut ‘Girl Of My Dreams’ something of a TikTok-fuelled cultural phenomenon within the LGBTQ+ community. Now, the New Jersey songwriter has taken a different approach with her third effort ‘Would You Still Love Me If You Really Knew Me?’, falling headfirst into heated discourse with songs that don’t quite stack up.
Just shy of 18 months since the release of ‘In Search Of The Antidote’, its follow up arrives amid an unexpected backlash that has divided opinion. Chiefly, the talk has centred around Boy, a song that has shocked sections of her fanbase. It is an extremely honest recollection of her recent experience falling in love with a man, triggering queerbaiting claims and forcing Fletcher to reassert that her sexuality is fluid.
Sonically, it’s also emblematic of the way Fletcher has stripped everything back here, accentuating her struggles in the music industry over sounds that are more organic and low-key than the punchy synth-pop that made her name.
Opener Party gets off a relatively strong start, showing vulnerability over an impactful piano-led melody. Hi, Everyone Leave Please, too, is a raw account of the grind gradually killing Fletcher’s love for performing. “I know it sounds like I’m jaded but I just think that it’s stupid / That we put humans on pedestals and expect them not to lose it,” she sings.
Distance could be described as an emotional double entendre, both a potential breakup song and a love letter to her fans. It’s heartfelt and relatable. After that, though, things become pretty mediocre. Good Girl/Gone Girl is unimaginative, generic pop, while All of the Women is up-tempo and punchy while lacking melodic depth. ‘Would You Still Love Me If You Really Knew Me?’ is a turning point in Fletcher’s career, offering a change in musical and lyrical direction that doesn’t always get her to where she needs to be.
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