Chloe Ament unlocked some core memories with her newest EP

Ellie McDowell

More stories from Ellie McDowell

It takes a village
April 19, 2023
The+album+cover+as+seen+on+Apple+Music

Ellie McDowell

The album cover as seen on Apple Music

The part of me that is still stuck in middle school found herself excitedly jumping up and down last Friday. I found a small artist on Instagram who just released a new EP. The name of it confused me a little, but then I read further. Broken Bodies, Broken Hearts is something I didn’t know I needed until the first note hit.

Chloe Ament wrote this EP as an homage to characters that created, and are still creating, my adolescent years. From the moment my eyes scanned the words “Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say they were perfectly normal, thank you very much,” I fell in love with a world created by J.K. Rowling. Ament took the focus from Harry and the Golden Trio, and instead focused it on his parents.

Broken Bodies, Broken Hearts is the perfect way to delve a little deeper into the Marauders. Each song gives listeners a peek into their personalities.

From the moment my eyes scanned the words ‘Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say they were perfectly normal, thank you very much,’ I had fallen in love with a world created by J.K. Rowling. Ament took the focus from Harry and the Golden Trio, and instead focused it on his parents.

“Destiny” – Remus Lupin and Sirius Black

I have always wondered if Remus and Sirius were a little more than friends, and this song confirms that for me. It is written from the perspective of Remus Lupin, and it shows us just how much he cares about Sirius.

“And all I wanted was you for forever/But it seems like destiny doesn’t want us together/I can’t push back anymore/The universe is at our door.”

This lyric sent my emotions spiraling. I felt for Remus and wanted to punch destiny in the face for him. These words sunk into my heart and made me feel the heartbreak.

Remus loved Sirius, and destiny refused to let them be together, causing Sirius to get into a lot of trouble and breaking Remus’s heart time and time again.

“And I don’t have it in me/To watch you meet your end.”

Remus had to step back when Sirius got in trouble. He couldn’t watch what happened to Sirius because the thought of losing him broke his heart. This should be what love is. Losing someone should be the scariest thing if you’re in love, and finally we get a good example of that.

Uninvited – An anti-Lily-Potter-x-Severus-Snape anthem

My least favorite ship in all of Harry Potter is, by far, Snape and Lily. It seems awkward and incorrect. Snape was kind of a jerk, and I don’t think he and Lily were at all compatible. “Uninvited” was the perfect anthem to add to this EP.

“Man, you let me down/Ditched me on my eighteenth birthday.”

The first lyric of this song immediately made me angry. What kind of friend ditches someone on their birthday? Knowing this song was about Severus made me understand a little bit, but a later line made me understand completely.

“With the guy you swore you hated/Turns out you’re the worst and he’s great and/I’m friends with all his friends.”

This line was referring to the relationship between Severus and James Potter. Severus and James hated each other from the beginning, and Lily was always stuck in the middle of it. I love that Ament included this relationship in her anti “Snilly” anthem.

The perfect way to pull this song together was the chorus. “Pack your things and go/Don’t hit up my phone /Keep your “sorrys” to yourself/And from now on just know you’re/Uninvited.”

It is the perfect girl power line to pull a “leave me alone” song together.

Antidote – Peter Pettigrew

Peter Pettigrew creeps me out. This song gave the same energy that Peter does–which scared me a little at first. It starts out with a line that led me astray from the character it was meant to embody. It sounded more like a mental health anthem which would draw me more toward Sirius. As I got further into the song, I understood.

“Losing touch with who I was before / Drifting further from familiar souls / And watching life go on without me anymore.”

This line brings me to believe that maybe this song is about after he makes his big mistake. He’s being pushed away by his friends, and he’s lost everything he once knew. Life is going on while he’s stuck as a rat.

What really made me think of Peter throughout the song was the whispers in the background. There were some parts where the lyrics were covered by these whispers, but I think they added to the song. It gave it the creepy feelings that I have always associated with Peter Petigrew.

Running to the Edge – Mary MacDonald and Remus Lupin

I was introduced to a character I didn’t know through this song. Mary MacDonald was one of Lily’s friends during their time at Hogwarts. If this song tells me anything about who she was, it’s that I wish we got to know her more during the Harry Potter franchise.

Mary and Remus were in the same boat after James and Lily died. They were heartbroken and lost. Their best friends were gone. This song really communicated that. It also made me think of mental health, and the toll that losing someone takes on you.

“I’d wander the darkest path if it meant you’d be safe / It’s hard to be whole when your soul is torn in two, one half in the grave.”

These two held this fierce protection over their friends that I strive to have. They are fiercely loyal and would do anything for their friends. I can’t help but think about every grenade I would ever jump on for the people I care about. If I could keep them safe, I would do absolutely anything for my friends.

“Each day I get older and older / And I’ve lived through a war I’m still soldering on / This life isn’t all that I thought / I’ll find a new place to belong.”

From what I know of Remus, James was the only person who made him feel like he belonged. Losing that person would break anyone, and Remus lost more than just James that day. I can’t even begin to imagine the pain this all brought on him. It’s a war he will never stop fighting.

“I’ve grown accustom to the hurt that entails when my mind starts to wander and the nightmares prevail / And I get caught in the web of every detail / How it should have been me instead.”

Survivor’s guilt is a real thing. It’s hard to deal with, and Ament did a great job of communicating that through this song. I felt the pain that these two must have been feeling after the loss of their friends.

“I’m running to the edge / I’ll learn to make amends / Oh the thought of you still burns a lonely dream of my return.”

If they could bring James and Lily back, they would. They would sell their souls to bring them back. I think that “the edge” is sanity. Losing someone drives anyone insane, especially if they’re like family.

The final line is what hit me the hardest. It is something I think everyone feels, because feeling lost is something everyone struggles with.

“This life isn’t all that I thought / But one day, I’ll start moving on.”

Until the End – James and Lily Potter

This song—whether it was the first or tenth time I listened to it—had me sobbing. James and Lily’s love is something I strive to feel. That might just be the hopeless romantic in me, but I want that. This song not only communicates their love, but also every emotion they felt.

“Boy and girl lock eyes across the room / He swore her smile made flowers bloom.”

I just think this line is clever. Her name is Lily, and her smile makes flowers bloom. It’s a beautiful line, and it makes me smile.

“Oh they live free, but the dark is closing in / He couldn’t stand by, and she couldn’t watch him die.”

This is true love. He wasn’t going to let the dark close in on the people he loved, but Lily wasn’t going to let him die without her being right by his side. Until the end, they were together.

“Early 20s fighting for their lives, from dusk to dawn on the front lines / They sold their youth to take up arms, broken bodies, broken hearts / Their friends who used to cheat on tests, now 21 and cheating death.”

I like how Ament used the title of the EP in this song. It is perfectly placed, and pulls at all of the heart strings. I also love how she pulled Sirius and Remus in too. She gave the thing all students can relate too, at least a little, and used it to create an emotional appeal.

“The boy and girl that found a way, gave up their nights to dig their graves / They’d say goodbye to meet again / Neither had been prepared for when the darkness cast a fatal blow / He bled out and she fled home / She raced to keep their son alive, and met her love on the other side.”

This is the line that broke me. I was in tears. They were together until the end when finally he was taken, and she had a son to protect. A mother’s love is the strongest barrier, and that saved the boy who they loved more than anything. They weren’t separated for long when finally they met again in death.

The final line of this song is the best ending to an EP I have ever heard, and it just continued the tears.

“Boy and girl lock eyes across the room / Too young to know they’d die too soon.”

Broken Bodies, Broken Hearts is beautiful, and it tugs at my heartstrings no matter how many times I listen to it. It unlocked core memories and made me fall in love with these comfort characters once again.