Hopelessly In Love with Bobby Dove’s Newest
By Denver-Rose Harmon, Staff Writer

The more I learn about the substance-abusing, womanizing habits that plagued the legends of classic country music, the more I come to appreciate a song like “Hopeless Romantic.” Bobby Dove (they/them), a singer/songwriter from Montreal, has gifted us a song full of 20th century country nostalgia, but with a refreshingly queer point of view. It makes my heart soar to find a modern song that sounds like something my father would listen to, but by a queer person.
This song had me hooked from the first millisecond as its opening line, “You kick my funny bone” drops without even a single note of buildup. Dove continues, crooning playful transitions from their twangy lower register to their light and heady upper register as they sing cleverly cute lyrics like,
I’m a known assassin
When it comes to killing years
My heart’s been stranded
And I’ve been branded
A hopeless romantic
When the first verse ends and the steel guitar sings a call-and-response with the electric, it’s easy to visualize Dove and their love interest in a flirty will-we-or-won’t-we exchange. Just one more verse, chorus, and an outro later and this just-over-two-and-a-half minute song leaves you wanting more – which just makes me play it on repeat.
This song is Dove’s first release since their 2016 album and is the perfect opener to give the listener a taste of their new record. Once you’ve replayed this song a few hundred times, you’ll want to check out the rest of the album.
“Hopeless Romantic” is the lead single and title track to Bobby Dove’s newest album, Hopeless Romantic, available now on Bandcamp and all streaming services.