There’s a delicious irony baked into “Care,” the latest single from gretchen—a track that insists, repeatedly and with a smirk, that it doesn’t care at all, even as it does everything possible to lodge itself permanently in your head. From the first seconds, the song radiates confidence: a locked-in bass line, clipped rhythmic guitar stabs, and breakbeats that snap with just enough grit to feel human, sweaty, and alive. Think Play-era Moby colliding with the sleek, late-night swagger of Silk Sonic, filtered through a club-ready funk lens that nods to Prince’s attitude and Daft Punk’s mechanical precision.
With only a handful of lines, the lyrics are minimal to the point of provocation. “You think I care?” gretchen asks again and again, weaponizing repetition as both hook and statement. It’s less about narrative than posture—an icy shrug set to an irresistible groove. The vocal delivery, cool and unbothered, knows it’s already won. This is dance music with a sneer, funk with its collar popped, and pop that understands the power of restraint.
Producer and composer Joe Alonso deserves credit for crafting a track that feels meticulously assembled without sounding over-polished. The constant bass pulse keeps the song grounded, while scrappy guitar riffs and subtle textural shifts reward repeat listens. Every element serves the groove, and the groove never lets up. It’s the kind of song that works just as well blasting from car speakers as it does sneaking into your brain hours later, uninvited.
Of course, “Care” arrives carrying an unavoidable footnote: the track was written and produced by Alonso, then “delivered” using artificial intelligence. In today’s music climate, that’s a loaded detail, and Sonal Music wisely avoids pretending otherwise. The conversation around AI in music is messy, emotional, and still unfolding. On one hand, tools like these can lower barriers, cut costs, and resurrect shelved ideas that might otherwise never see daylight. On the other, the flood of low-effort, prompt-generated tracks has sparked understandable concern among musicians who’ve spent years honing their craft.
What makes “Care” worth engaging with in that debate is its intent. This isn’t a case of pressing a button and calling it art. Alonso’s approach—using AI as a production tool rather than a creative crutch—positions the technology closer to CGI in film or digital editing in modern recording. You may still wrestle with where you personally land on the issue, but the song itself makes a compelling argument for judging the result as much as the process. If music is meant to move you, challenge you, or make you dance, “Care” checks all three boxes.
In the end, gretchen’s debut statement feels less like a novelty and more like a provocation—both musically and culturally. “Care” doesn’t ask for permission, doesn’t overexplain itself, and certainly doesn’t apologize. It just grooves, shrugs, and dares you to decide whether you care or not. Chances are, despite yourself, you will.
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