PREMIERE: Indie Singer-Songwriter Pacing Turns Insecurities Into A Collage For New Music Video For “Who has ADHD now lol”

For indie pop singer-songwriter Katie McTigue, her musical moniker Pacing is the definition of a creative outlet. Fusing together her neurodivergence with down-to-earth DIY songwriting, McTigue finds a way to be both melodic and bashfully honest with her music.

Her self-produced debut record hatemail from earlier this year was a strong indicator of her style, including the fan-favourite “Who has ADHD now lol”. While the front half of hatemail served as an barrage of insecurities and anxiety, the hit single served as a turning point where self-acceptance and quirky satire reigns champion.

“Sometimes when I’m being really mean to myself I realize how ridiculous I sound, and it helps,” she explains, “I wanted to help other people do the same.”

With a sugar-coated indie pop melody that falls in line with the likes of Natasha Bedingfield and Kate Nash, “Who has ADHD now lol” puts a twinkling piano and acrobatic vocals to the forefront, showcasing McTigue’s odd personality and gentle spirit.

“When I wrote this song, I was obsessed with comparing myself against all the symptoms and stereotypes to decide if I was “really ADHD enough” to fit in with the people I saw online. I’m still not totally sure, but I found it really useful to try on different “ADHD hats” in this song.

The punchline of the song came from a real interaction I had with my therapist. I distracted her with a joke while she was writing my prescription, and she accidentally wrote down the words I was saying and had to scratch it out and start over. Who has ADHD now?”

In creating the music video for the song, the singer incorporated hundreds of anonymously submitted “deepest insecurities”, which fans uploaded to the project website anxiety.place. This project plays on the anxious, driving piano in the song that mimics the dings of unwanted notifications: “you are going to die alone,” “your friends don’t really like you,” “you are not memorable.”

The video juxtaposes footage of a real brain MRI scan (courtesy of McTigue’s close friend) alongside archival footage of the NASA Apollo missions and various meme imagery; distractingly colourful and unique, the music video leans intoPacing’s distinctive early-2000s internet aesthetic.

“I hope that viewers will be reminded that they are not alone in their daily battles with the mean voices in their heads”.

You can let out your own insecurities by visiting anxiety.place, and check out the music video below: