B-Side Guys

The collaboration between Kylie Rothfield and indie alt-pop icon Mothé transforms what could have been merely uncomfortable into something razor-sharp and revelatory. “Old Man” dissects the power dynamics of age-gap relationships with surgical precision, wrapping its cutting observations in a deceptively bright package of vintage instruments and modern production.

Recording choices tell half the story here – analog synths and cabinet-style electric guitars create an intentional tension between old and new that mirrors the song’s subject matter. The vintage upright piano grounds the track in a timeless sound while maintaining the raw edge of a live band performance, allowing Rothfield’s vocals to navigate between vulnerability and accusation with devastating effect.

The lyrics waste no time establishing the timeline: “When I was barely seventeen / you probably would’ve still dated me” lands like an indictment rather than a confession. Rothfield’s impressive vocal control, honed through collaborations with industry veterans like Ryan Tedder and Ester Dean, allows her to deliver lines like “in another life I could be your daughter” with just the right mixture of disgust and revelation.

The production creates distinct movements within the song that track the narrator’s growing awareness. The “hot teacher / camp t-shirt” opening vignette, cushioned in dreamy instrumentation, gives way to harder-edged arrangements as reality sets in. By the time we reach “was it everything that you wanted,” the fusion of pop hooks and alternative rock grit perfectly captures the moment illusion shatters into clarity.

“Old Man” succeeds because it never loses its pop sensibility even as it tackles its uncomfortable subject matter. The result is a track that manages to be both a scathing commentary and an undeniable earworm – proof that sometimes the sweetest melodies carry the sharpest teeth