Right now we’re blessed to be living in an epoch that prizes standout pop tracks- yes the charts might be playing the same old Waze & Odyssey boring bass beats but on the internet it’s clever lyricism paired with an infectious melody that is really ruling the roost. Taylor Swift, for all her faults, can write a bloody good pop song. Carly Rae Jepsen too has recently been heralded for her ability to pen euphoric earworms that also carry emotional heft. Pop is no longer dismissed as fluffy fare- it’s a serious, thinkpiece prompting business. And now we have Alessia Cara, newly minted 18 year old and already responsible for one of the biggest buzz tracks of the year with Here, her painfully accurate depiction of 90% of the house parties you’ve ever attended. It wasn’t a fluke.
Cara has premiered two new cuts from upcoming EP Four Pink Walls on Zane Lowe’s Beats 1 show and I’m already itching to send them to the best pop connoisseurs in my social circles. Seventeen boasts euphoric production that rivals Swifty’s recent foray into full pop mode, despite its rueful wish to freeze time forever before the weight of adulthood really settles upon her shoulders. Having paid rent for 2 years now, I fully feel you Alessia. Second track Outlaws opts for a more doo-wop feel and a us-against-the-world narrative but is nonetheless catchy for it; you’ll be humming the chorus melody for days afterwards. Pop music like this carries such promise; Alessia Cara is almost certainly set to travel down the path carved by Years & Years– producing first rate pop with huge mainstream appeal without compromising on originality or personal vision. Four Pink Walls drops this Friday; from these two tracks alone it should be top of your pre-order list.
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Orpheus Speaks 