Written by Tom Bedding
The South African born artist has carried on her fine and emerging form on her latest release. After securing her much deserved early acclaim from her debut EP 'Medicine', Baby Queen takes her songwriting into the immersive world of her project and offers some fine catchy and personal moments.
Baby Queen’s first mixtape begins with the artist reciting a poem (called 'Baby Kingdom'), based upon breaking the mould and not wanting to conform to the expectations of others. Over a simple synth mix, here we have a declaration of freedom and a personal state of intentions, that the songwriter is eagerly wanting to offer to her fans.
It is not hard to notice how Bella has a great way with words and has a lovely ear for a catchy melody, hence why there has been so much fuss about her, so early on in her career. ‘Raw Thoughts’ has one of those lovely hooks, which is backed by an extremely similar mix to Taylor Swift’s ‘1989’ record, something that the singer would be unashamed to admit! Confusion over a breakup and looking on at your ex is the state of play during this infectious number, it gets into your brain instantly. The lyrics flow so nicely and this solid single is for sure going to last long in the memory for her fresh, devoted fanbase.
Next on ‘You Shaped Hole’, the listener is swept off their feet and made to sway along to an incredible piano hook, that fits so well with yet another catchy melody. The impressive verses are also backed up by a slight 80’s guitar part, which truly reinforces how engaging and fun this song can be. Already the colourful but yet cynical sound of Baby Queen is shown so well here during this first quarter of the mixtape; you can hear how the artist and producers are loving digging away at fine tuning this project.
Unfortunately ‘American Dream’ does not offer as much as I hoped, despite featuring a solid feature by MAY-A. The hook found in the pre-chorus shines well but the ‘sound wall’ found in the main hook of the song, does not have the impact and impressive nature found on the other tracks.
One of the shining lights of Baby Queen’s ‘Medicine EP’ was how she conveyed her thoughts of the Gen-Z experience on songs like ‘Pretty Girl Lies’ and ‘Internet Religion’. Despite that promise, the opinionated track called ‘Narcissist’, does not hit the highs of previous songs and contains lyrics that do fall flat. Here we have Bella singing about how her generation are seemed to be a narcissist bunch, which has been an unfair comment by the boomers, yet the track does not really hold enough weight to pack a deserved punch back.
We are then given a touch of great pop with the stunning single ‘Dover Beach’ though, which has been a fantastic addition to the already impressive collection of catchy songs that this artist has. After being inspired to take a visit to Dover Beach from her favourite poem by Matthew Arnold, Baby Queen took a dashing of Swifts ‘Style’ with her and wrote a fantastic single about how a lover has spoilt the view at the famous beach. The melody writing stands out beautifully over some fine sounding indie synth pop tracking and when that bridge comes along, it leaves you jumping and swaying all night long!
Baby Queen can wear her influences on her sleeve at times, which obviously is not a bad thing as she takes her favourite aspects of her hero’s in the best possible way. With ‘Dover Beach pt.2’, there is a very The 1975 feel to this narrated instrumental track, that partly does resemble the single we heard just before. Again we are given another poem by the singer but sadly the instrumentation feels a tad too tame and light weight. There isn’t the shine or wonder that is found on the previous track unfortunately.
Next on ‘These Drugs’, it felt like we were witnessing this artist strip away the persona of Baby Queen and show the struggles of the human behind it. The admirable song does showcase the songwriting ability with the lyrics and the impressive instrumentation work, that is found within the mix. This single is a solid song, it showcases the short comings of a human being and the overall tone of it, hits well and conveys the pain of it all tremendously.
Sigrid and Taylor Swift nuances are later found on ‘Fake Believe’’s synth work and the vocal delivery by Baby Queen. ‘Build a wall and make ‘em pay, Im a saint because I pray, Jesus died for me to say you’re not human you’re gay’ showcases her social and political views, with also wanting to kick out any bigotry in the world. It has to be said, it hits a lot better than previous tracks and shows how the singer has an important voice in U.K. music.
‘The Yearbook’ finishes with a song that describes the artists struggles with herself, ranging from addiction to wanting to be more like her sister. ‘I’m A Mess’ has a simple synth pattern but is slowly backed up by more embellishments and drums as the song progresses, leaving Baby Queen declaring how much of a mess she is in dramatic fashion. The way it wraps up is a fine finish and will quench the thirst for her loyal fans who truly do relate to her lyrics.
There are shinning moments of purposeful but fun alt pop on this recent release, which will attract a devoted following for sure. You can feel the potential on 'The Yearbook' and at places, it has already been fulfilled and that has not gone unnoticed in the indie community. Only time will tell if Baby Queen will keep this impressive momentum going but for now, let’s enjoy Bella reaching for the sky and releasing relatable and fun music!
Bring Me The Music Recommended Tracks: Raw Thoughts and Dover Beach
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