NFV Song Spotlight: Bitter Half's FY IMY

Bitter Half includes two former members of a band I used to follow: Stephanie de Santos and Jenny Sparkles. That's how I got my introduction to the two of them and I followed them in their new adventure, finally catching a set at Harvard & Stone in September 2024. The new band veers into punk pop territory with Santos and Sparkles trading lead vocals. 

Bitter Half at Harvard & Stone

I got to catch the band a second time in December 2024, once again playing a set at Harvard & Stone during a Swyndle night. The two of them had their faces painted as clowns and they asked the crowd if anyone was scared of clowns. There were two female friends in the audience and one outed her friend as being scared of clowns. Hopefully, that didn't prevent the person from enjoying the set. Though I could see how Santos' Joker style clown look could give one unwanted nightmares. One person who wasn't scared at all, but instead was definitely proud was Sparkles' father who got a shout out by his daughter. 

Bitter Half at Harvard & Stone

Santos and Sparkles are clearly having fun on stage and are relaxed in their stage performance. Santos loves the hair flip. Sparkles loves screaming into the microphone. The two of them occasionally performed back to back.

Their song "FY IMY" incorporates all those elements. The band has not released any songs yet, but that song title may someday be changed to "F*ck You, I Miss You."

Bitter Half at Harvard & Stone

F*ck you is all that ever comes to mind.

It is a song dealing with a love-hate relationship. That above lyrical line would imply that it is more of a hate relationship. On the other hand, the repeated chorus is: 

F*ck you, I Miss You, I'm Sorry. 

Bitter Half at Harvard & Stone

So perhaps there's a 60-40 hate vs love percentage going on. 

The song starts with buzzy guitar playing along side melodic singing by Santos. The drums come in to set the beat and then Sparkles joins with backing vocals for the chorus with an emphasis on "F*ck." As the song heads towards the end, the volume increases both on the singing and music. It got the crowd cheering throughout the final thirty seconds of the song as a sense of torment is being cathartically released. 

Bitter Half at Harvard & Stone

For these NFV Song Spotlights, I like to have a Spotify link. The band is so new that they have yet to release any music. If you find this write-up of interest, you'll need to go out and catch the band live to feel the power behind this song.

Setlist: SIVGB, FY IMY, Waiting Room, On Our Own, Stones N Bones, Hexxxed.