“Ghost in the Machine” starts with velvety low-pitched vocals, wrapped in layers of harmonies. Next, a retro-rave synth enters, and before you know it you’re in a swirl of 2000’s dance-pop nostalgia, and powerful vocals with the drums jumping out of the speakers. The verse lyrics address the cyclical trauma that turns the abused into abusers, and the chorus points a way forward as it explores how personal responsibility might break the cycle 🖤
With its feet in early 80s Michael Jackson and its head in contemporary synth-pop, “While I’m Alive” explores the struggle of learning to love yourself even when you don’t like yourself. Gospel and doo-wop-inspired harmonies groove on top of R&B synth-bass lines, deconstructed drum loops, drum machines, and funky guitars. With her powerful yet playful vocals. 🤍
This aggressive synth pop track starts with a bass driven groove and a nearly whispered first verse. It then twists its way through a wild indie pop adventure and ends with the final chorus ripping out of the speakers like a primal scream. With an evocative blend of synthesized and acoustic instruments, Lethal Dose is about the aftermath of a toxic relationship. 🗡️
“Starlight” explores the push and pull between people in a toxic relationship and how that infects them as they grapple with their inner demons. Dreamy harmonies and a synth pop drum beat drop you into a nightclub where our heroine and her partner are on a binger and about to make the first of many bad decisions. Raycheal’s vocals keep the emotional twists and turns of the story front and center. While her impressive vocal range is in effect, it’s only used to heighten this emotionality. ⭐️
With a raw and howling vocal at its emotional center and a stripped-down aesthetic, “I Don’t Mind” is the only song on the EP recorded live in the studio with the band. It describes the heart-rending misadventure of falling in love with someone you know will leave their muddy bootprints all over your soul and not think twice. 🥾
“Breathing Underwater” finds its musical sustenance in Halsey, Nine Inch Nails, neo-soul, and lo-fi. Told from the perspective of an adult looking back on painful memories growing up while sinking beneath the waves of depression. 🌊