Pop/Review M & J - NOT A LOVE SONG
M & J is an alt pop duo from Bondi, Australia. Their music is often about the natural landscape flora and fauna in Australia and about the best parts of life. Their songs are heavily lyrically focused, and each is usually a personal tale about life experiences we hope others can relate to. M & J also take all of their own pictures for their cover art, which is usually of the natural bush landscape contrasted with the beautiful oceans in Australia.
“NOT A LOVE SONG” by M & J takes an unexpectedly honest approach to one of music’s most familiar subjects: love. At its heart, the song explores the uncomfortable reality that feelings are not always mutual. Sometimes, no matter how much effort we make, someone simply does not feel the same way, and that emotional imbalance becomes the foundation for a song that deliberately refuses to be what its writer originally intended.
The track grew from a personal experience involving one half of M & J, who initially wanted to write a genuine love song for someone they had met and come to care about. The idea was to capture the excitement, dreams and hopes surrounding a potential relationship. But when those hopes failed to materialize, the creative direction changed naturally. What began as an attempt to celebrate love instead became a reflection on wanting something that could never quite become reality.
That gives “NOT A LOVE SONG” a particularly relatable emotional core. Rather than romanticizing unrequited feelings, the song acknowledges the disappointment of imagining a future with someone who does not share the same vision. The title becomes almost ironic: everything that inspired the writing was connected to love, yet the final result is ultimately about its absence.
There is something compelling about that honesty. The song recognizes that rejection does not necessarily erase the feelings that came before it; sometimes those feelings simply transform into reflection, acceptance and creativity.
“NOT A LOVE SONG” therefore works as more than a story of unrequited affection. It is a thoughtful reminder that songwriting does not always follow the plan. Sometimes the songs we end up writing are shaped precisely by what did not happen—and those can be the most truthful songs of all.
