Background

Released in May 2025, “Nice to Each Other” is the lead single from British singer Olivia Dean’s second studio album, The Art of Loving. The track was written by Dean alongside Matt Hales and produced by her frequent collaborator Zach Nahome.

In this review of Olivia Dean’s “Nice to Each Other” I look at how her personal, diary-style songwriting makes the music feel relatable. I also explore her realistic take on modern romance, the importance of kindness in relationships, and how this song perfectly represents the ‘slow-burn’ feel of her entire album.

Diaristic Relatability

Olivia Dean’s “Nice to Each Other” stands out because of its vivid, diaristic details that make me feel like I am standing right in the room with her. Instead of using big, poetic words about love (which I often find hard to comprehend), she describes specific moments that are easy to visualize, such as not knowing “where the switches are” or “where you keep the cutlery”.

These small observations create a very clear scene of those first, slightly awkward mornings spent in someone else’s space. The song is also very relatable because it focuses on the “mundane,” which are the normal, everyday parts of life that we all experience. Even if my personal life is different from a famous singer’s, I understands the feeling of trying to navigate the “in-between” stage of a relationship.

Constant Kindness Instead of an Uncertain Forever After

In “Nice to Each Other,” Olivia Dean avoids the usual over-the-top romantic clichés found in many love songs. Instead of singing about perfect soulmates or grand, dramatic gestures like standing in the rain, she focuses on the realistic “in-between” stage of a relationship. She even explicitly says, “I don’t want a boyfriend”, which breaks the typical pop music trope of always searching for a serious commitment. By choosing to talk about the awkwardness of being in a new person’s kitchen rather than “forever after”, the song feels much more honest and grounded in real life. I don’t know about you, but I always assumed I’m in a fairy tale but the reality is strikingly different.

The song suggests that when a relationship is new or uncertain, simply being kind to one another is the best approach. I don’t know if I approached dating that way, but I’d like to believe I did. Instead of putting pressure on the situation to become a big romance, Dean highlights radical kindness as the most important goal. This means being patient and nice while you are still figuring things out, which is a very practical and mature way to look at dating.

The Actual First Single of The Art of Loving

When “Nice to Each Other” was first released in May 2025, its chart performance was surprisingly quiet compared to Olivia Dean’s later massive hit, “Man I Need”. I understand “Nice to Each Other” was critically liked, but it did not immediately become a household anthem. It has a very relaxed, low-key sound, which focused on soft guitars and simple niceness rather than a big, dramatic chorus.

However, the global success of “Man I Need” eventually acted like a spotlight that helped fans like me rediscover “Nice to Each Other”. Now, the choice makes sense as it perfectly represented the album’s core message: that love is an art that starts with basic kindness. For me, its role was to introduce her new, more mature style, proving that a song doesn’t need to be an instant number-one hit to have a lasting impact on the general public.

Conclusion

At first, “Nice to Each Other” wasn’t a standout for me. However, as time went on, I really started to appreciate its brilliance. Romance isn’t always a grand gesture, and neither is the song’s production. Nut that’s exactly why I find it more relatable and practical than 99% of the pop hits I hear.