Many of you would have heard about the various boycotts of Spotify in recent years. Some people left when Joe Rogan was paid an obscene amount of money to put his podcast on the platform. Others cite founder Daniel Ek’s affiliation with a military drone technology company. For me, it was probably a combination of these things, but mainly the feeling that listening to music in the app wasn’t enticing anymore. I was following over 500 artists, but was not informed when there was new music. The algorithm was lazy, serving me songs I’d already heard that week instead of choosing from the vast array of music in playlists on my account.
I did a little research and landed on Deezer. There are some questions about their ethics due to their ownership, but these are not as damning as Spotify. With Deezer, at least the app is focused on music. There are no podcasts or audiobooks touted on the front page, trying to stop you from engaging with your music library. While transferring my music library to Deezer, I went through my followed artists, accumulated over 15 years. I removed anyone I wasn’t interested in anymore or who wasn’t producing music. This reacquainted me with new albums from a range of artists, including Marble Sounds.
Marble Sounds is the project of Pieter Van Dessel, a Belgian songwriter and musician. ‘Nothing To Get Over’ is from 2025’s album Core Memory, his 6th album to date.
Immediately, we’re thrown into this ’80s soundscape, with synths, bass and drums. Van Dessel starts singing, with his unique tone and accent. The verse sets up the scene, the end of a relationship, feeling lost, sad and restless. There’s some optimism there, “Not sure where to go but I guess I will figure it out”, almost like this is a temporary state of affairs, rather than a life-defining state. This is reinforced in the chorus, and I really like how it’s not a typical heartbroken breakup song where someone can’t imagine how they’ll carry on.
I think the best way I can describe how this song makes me feel when I hear it and why I love it so much is ‘excited’. The verse and pre-chorus are upbeat, but the chorus feels epic. The drum fill oozes ’80s reverb, ushering in the chorus lyric and a gorgeous backing vocal answering the main line.
There is nothing to get over
There is nothing to get over
I can live my life the way it is
I admit you took a part of it
But nothing to get over
The acknowledgement that life is going on regardless is very relatable. There’s a hint of a tambourine in the chorus, along with an accent (I think a guitar) for the line “the way it is”. I feel like that accent is really distinctive and refreshes your ears before the title comes back. There’s quite a bit of space in the chorus, so it’s pleasing to the ear.
After the chorus, there’s more synth piano and guitar, which leads us back into the verse. Things change up after the chorus with the bridge, which keeps the upbeat and optimistic feel with the guitar playing some loose arpeggios with the lush synth layers. The drop-down chorus brings the synth to the foreground with a lack of drums.
The backing vocals sing us out with two overlapping lines, bringing the oohs back from the chorus. I love a good fade out, and this song does not disappoint.
I hope that if you’ve lost your way and aren’t listening to music much anymore, you can find your way back. You never know when you might find songs that you love.