“I am a liar” opens Fawn in her new track Burden. I’ll admit, the first time I heard this song I heard the words as “I am a lion” in a delicate faltering tone, and she had me, however, learning the true lyrics didn’t disappoint. The descending chords over the line, “if I say that I don’t bleed” are exquisite. “But I’m afraid that my admission of my needs might look a little bit like greed,” she continues, describing the difficult give and take of meeting each others needs in any relationship in a simultaneously self-critical and self-vindicating way.
We are only twenty seconds into the song and I’m already sold; do yourselves a favour and check out the whole thing, it’s up on our Singer Songwriter and Indie Folk playlist.
A field recorded intro and some moody whole note strums on a guitar open Nightshade by The Shy. Glitchy beats, whole note synths, and breathy vocals suggest a nod to Owl City, The Postal Service, or maybe even Her Space Holiday. The production is robust and the verse vocals nail the aesthetic of the early 2000s lo-fi beeps of minimal indie electronic music. Nightshade takes place in the spacetime between the moment life ends and death presents itself, told from the perspective of two fictional characters, showing a great deal of maturity in the lyrical ability of The Shy.
Breathe Slowly by Bran has a great lo-fi r&b beat and lush instrumentation that set the tone of this introspective yet abstract track. I’d love to hear it with a bit less vocal effecting and maybe a contrast between some whispery vocals in the verse to some stronger notes on the chorus, nevertheless, it’s a solid chill, and moody track for any lo-fi beat playlist you may have going.
If you’re feeling dark and sinister, cue up Amorphic Angels by Destro. This drum and bass track certainly has studied the likes of Pendulum, and there’s a certain sense of fulfillment when the sixteenth note bass lines hit. I’d love to hear this track with a vocal line, or maybe just some more contrast between parts and more evolution to pull you all the way through the end of the track, but nonetheless it’s fun, hard-hitting jam to get you pumped, and if anything I tend to find myself wanting it to just hit even harder.
Tejas Sharma is a young artist of 16 with an entrepreneurial spirit, already working on establishing an independent label of their own. Although still developing as an artist there’s a lot of merit to this song worth noting. A layered intro eludes to the music to come, some artful vocal runs, and a withheld drum and bass synth and synth solo create a sort-of neo-rock power ballad that shows maturity of the artist beyond their years. I’d love to see Tejas Sharma continue to expand their work with some more personal, specific, and narrative lyrics, and a real acoustic piano now that they’ve laid this solid foundation.