The Fine Line Between Pain and Progress: Dead Gowns’ “Hardcore or Wellness” Explained

If you’ve ever found yourself staring at an ex’s text message—or just staring at the wall in a laundromat—trying to figure out if you’re actually healing or just going through the motions, Dead Gowns made a song specifically for you.

“Hardcore or Wellness” the standout single from the Portland, Maine-based project led by Geneviève Beaudoin, doesn’t try to give you neat, tidy answers about moving on. Instead, it sits right inside the weird, disorienting haze that comes after a major shift in your life. It’s vulnerable, atmospheric, and quietly devastating in the way the best indie folk songs always are.

Here is a deep dive into why “Hardcore or Wellness” hits so hard, how it was made, and what it tells us about Dead Gowns’ full-length record, Vegas.

What Does “Hardcore or Wellness” Actually Mean?

At first glance, pairing the word “hardcore”—which brings to mind grit, endurance, and raw emotion—with “wellness,” a word co-opted by modern self-care culture, feels like a contradiction. But that contradiction is the whole point.

When a relationship ends or a major chapter closes, we’re often bombarded with advice on how to recover. We’re told to practice self-care, drink water, move on, and protect our peace. That’s the “wellness” side of the coin. But real life rarely works that cleanly. Sometimes, healing feels grueling. It means confronting memories you’d rather avoid, sitting with uncomfortable feelings, and enduring the pain head-on. That’s the “hardcore” side.

Beaudoin captures this tension perfectly. Is re-engaging with someone from your past an act of bravery, or are you just reopening old wounds? Are you keeping them around because they offer real comfort, or because letting go completely feels too terrifying?

The core question of the track—Is it hardcore or wellness?—isn’t meant to be answered. It’s an acknowledgment that the path to feeling whole again is usually messy, confusing, and filled with grey areas.

The Story Behind the Song and the Album Vegas

“Hardcore or Wellness” arrived as a key preview of Dead Gowns’ album Vegas, released via Mtn. Laurel Recording Co. For long-time followers of Beaudoin’s music, the track represents a clear evolutionary step in her songwriting and sonic palette.

Earlier Dead Gowns releases, like the widely praised How to Look at a Bird EP, proved Beaudoin’s ability to craft quiet, intimate spaces driven by acoustic guitars and striking vocals. On “Hardcore or Wellness,” that intimacy remains, but the canvas expands significantly.

The writing of the song stems from moments of personal paralysis—those days where you feel stuck in place while the rest of the world keeps moving. By channeling those feelings into sharp lyricism, Beaudoin turns internal conflict into a shared experience for listeners.

Inside the Production: Crafting the Atmosphere

To record the track, the band headed to Great North Sound Society, a famed recording retreat tucked away in rural Maine. The location’s rustic, isolated environment has long been a sanctuary for artists looking to capture warm, organic soundscapes, and that energy translates directly into the recording.

Co-produced by Beaudoin alongside drummer Colin Lester Fleming and keyboardist Sam Kassirer, the arrangements on “Hardcore or Wellness” are built with care and restraint:

• Vocals: Beaudoin’s delivery stays front and center—grounded, conversational, yet capable of sudden, emotional swells.

• Instrumentation: Instead of relying strictly on traditional folk setups, the track weaves in subtle Mellotron textures, vintage synths, and organ passages that drift underneath the rhythm section.

• Rhythm Section: Luke Kalloch’s baritone guitar and bass work give the song a steady, driving anchor, mirroring the feeling of pacing through a room while your mind spins.

The result is a sound that balances raw singer-songwriter intimacy with slow-burn indie rock dynamics. It doesn’t rush to hit a radio-ready chorus; it lets the mood build naturally.

The Visuals: Laundromats and Everyday Processing

The official music video for “Hardcore or Wellness” mirrors the track’s grounded tone. Set in a local laundromat, the visuals lean heavily into the mundane routines of everyday life.

There’s something universally relatable about doing chores while carrying heavy emotional baggage. Watching clothes spin in a dryer becomes a visual metaphor for repetitive thoughts—circling around the same questions, over and over, without getting anywhere new. By keeping the setting simple and unglamorous, the video reinforces the song’s main theme: grief and recovery don’t usually happen in dramatic movie moments. They happen while you’re folding shirts and waiting on the spin cycle.

Why Dead Gowns Belongs on Your Playlist

In an era where music often feels engineered for quick viral clips, Dead Gowns operates at a refreshingly deliberate pace. The project draws clear parallels to artists like Angel Olsen, Big Thief, Sharon Van Etten, and Waxahatchee—songwriters who excel at taking quiet, personal struggles and shaping them into expansive soundscapes.

“Hardcore or Wellness” stands out because it respects the listener’s intelligence. It doesn’t give you a catchy cliché to wrap up your feelings. It offers a mirror to the strange, uncomfortable moments of transition we all go through.