Review Summary: 2 comfy
In hell is a teenage girl, Nessa subverts expectations with a stripped back EP. In the hands of a generic pop artist, it may have been ordinarily boring. If your experience with Nessa is based on her debut EP, one might mistake her as an average artist. Since then, she’s shown depth-full tunes, and this EP is no exception. Yet, there’s an indication of her becoming a tad too comfy with her music style.
This is a welcome return, but more pizzazz would’ve boded well. Hard beats? Nah, BANG BANG! is the hardest it gets with punk swagger and a driving bass drum reminiscent of Charli XCX’s Sucker era. Heartbreak in the hamptons, on the other hand, has typically mainstream floaty pop with hooks and a simple synth pad. They’re both solid tracks, but this EP shines when laid back.
Nessa’s whispery, breathy vocals lead the way over romantic lyrics that feel vulnerable. There’s a fragility about her music, amongst delicate piano notes and background strings. Indeed, her trademark moody music is back, and can often sound cinematic. The second track, for example, has a sudden, climactic burst of gorgeous strings to break an otherwise quiet tone. Comparisons to Billie Eilish may be inescapable due to Nessa’s whisper vocals, but Nessa’s music is packed with blossoming musical flora that Billie often can’t touch. Then again, there’s equally tepid moments. Young forever had - objectively - more bangers than this slow, methodical EP.
Fans of Nessa can’t go wrong with this release. It’s her vibe, and fans love it. These tracks will seamlessly fit in a track list for one of her concerts, and at the very least, give them something pretty to chew on. In her previous album, though, she proved she can provide quite a few bangers with her slower tunes, and it seems her career would grow with more attention to that. It was a song like I hope ur miserable until ur dead that originally gave her hoards of views, and I would hate to see her forget where she came from. This EP is a comfortable middle ground, relaxing, but hopefully there’s a little more energy in the next round. It’s a mature release, but perhaps a tad too safe.
