Sevdaliza/ The Calling EP
'In order to have clearness in our head, we need to clear our hearts. The Calling is the soul telling me to return. Ground. She is the birth of all that is," Sevda Alizadeh speaks of her latest EP The Calling, a follow-up to last year's deeply personal debut album, Ison. Going by Sevdaliza, the 30-year-old singer/producer continues to pull inspiration from her varied life as a refugee, an immigrant, a basketball player and a multidisciplinary artist. Unlike Ison which tended to get murky at times, The Calling has landed with acute clarity both in its trip-hop aesthetic and poetic songcraft.
Working once again with long-time Dutch collaborator Mucky, Sevdaliza fully commits to perfecting her reinterpretation of the so-called Bristol sound. A lot of it has to do with her own voice,a ghostly, singular croon drenched in exquisite tragedy and vulnerability, which adds the kind of quiet drama that embodies the tracks on this EP. Opening track Soul Syncable announces its arrival with cinematic string flourishes. "It hurts/ Because you're growing/ You can't escape/ Patterns keep you going," she intones on the ode to soul-body synchronisation.
Introduced by drum pad beats, 5d finds her delivering a cryptic message about human destiny and our place in the universe ("We have our reasons/ We belong/ To the stars/ Guardian angels/ Float with us"). Soothsayer begins as an orchestral piano ballad before morphing into a gorgeous trip-hop realm. "Blue shoes in the dark/ They guide you/ Look inside, don't look back/ Don't hide you," she sings, her voice quivers in the way that it evokes the trembling timbre of Portishead's Beth Gibbons.
Energ1 sustains the atmospheric tension between piano, strings and sparse trip-hop beats. Here, we get a glimpse into the artist's romantic struggle ("I don't think/ I'm sure/ This kind of love is not for me to have/ Don't give to take/ This bond is forcing me to wide awake"). While the most minimalistic of the lot, Human Nature makes up for it with a stunning gimmick where her vocals are manipulated to the point that it turns into a flute's whistle tone.
Blending Middle Eastern elements with standard trip-hop production, Voodoov embodies Sevdaliza's identity and artistic essence. Closer Observer, on the other hand, is a bit of a pop-leaning outlier. Built on upbeat bass synths, the song sees her channelling some Imogen Heap over an electronica bounce. "I'm not a part/ I'm not a part/ I'm not a part of anything,"she insists. "I'm near the part/ I'm near the part/ I'm near the part of letting love in."
While there're many cathartic moments to be had on The Calling, it's this sense of resolve that makes this EP more accessible than most of Sevdaliza's early works. Now in a clearer headspace, not only is she able to hone in on the trip-hop sensibility, she's done so with masterful artistry.
THE PLAYLIST
BENNETTY/ Jood Derm
With their combined age inching towards five centuries, up-and-coming Thai six-piece BENNETTY is the epitome of the old adage "age is just a number". Taking quite literally the concept of the elderly-themed indie outfit The Charapaabs, the senior sextet has already earned our respect with their debut single, Jood Derm [Original Point]. Buttressed by molam-inspired guitar, the mid-tempo track has a lot going for it -- roaring drums, sneaky basslines, vibrant mouth organ, and Watchara Na Ranong's stern vocals which happen to share certain post-punk qualities with Joy Division's frontman Ian Curtis and Interpol's Paul Banks.
MØ/ Nostalgia
"I remember the first time I was in love/ It was all the way back in 1997," muses MØ on her new cut, Nostalgia. Marking her first release since last year's When I Was Young EP, the song finds the Danish pop songstress reminiscing about her past love over the light, summery dancehall beats that more or less hark back to her breakthrough Major Lazer collaboration, Lean On. But instead of the intelligible hook, she offers up a catchy bridge coupled with an anthemic chorus that could potentially be a dominant soundtrack this summer.
Lord Huron/ When the Night is Over
An elusive love plays the central role on When the Night is Over, a new single by LA indie quartet Lord Huron. The latest to be released from their recently released third LP Vide Noir, the song continues to serve as a reminder of the band's ability to craft a forlornly yearning sonic landscape. "Tell me where did you go? I've been searching high and low/ I have only 'til the night is over," singer Ben Schneider implores, his downcast voice soon matched by the meandering rhythm section that occupies the track's midpoint.
Beach House/ Dark Spring
On their latest offering Dark Spring, Baltimore duo Beach House has swapped their trademark dream-pop for a dose of propulsive shoegaze. "Dark red/ Light years/ Brought near," Victoria Legrand intones her terse lines which resemble a truncated poem. "Cold gun/ Glowing/ Night scene/ Started remain/ Brought fear." The guitar lurches forward with a soft menace before bringing everything to a spine-chilling halt. The track, along with its predecessors Lemon Glow and Dive, are set to grace the pair's forthcoming seventh record, appropriately titled 7.
Varsity/ A Friend Named Paul
Formed in 2013, Chicago band Varsity is one of those indie acts that had managed to fly under our radar, at least until now. Here, we get introduced to the five-piece through A Friend Named Paul, the latest single from their sophomore record Parallel Person. "Come over tonight, bring a candle/ We'll just sit and stare/ We can share in the feeling of going nowhere," Stephanie Smith coos in her pastel-hued timbre. "Does it have to be stable?/ Does it have to be said?" she adds with a gleeful abandon bolstered by the jangly, melodic rock production.
