EP Review: Melis - 'Undercurrent'
Berlin-based singer-songwriter Melis’ new home-made EP 'Undercurrent' is a stimulating collection of emotive indie pop and electronica influenced songs.
What is immediately noticeable about ‘Undercurrent’ as a whole is how it has been meticulously crafted to see each track represent a different mood or emotion. This means the EP moves with fluidity, but the tracks do not bleed into each other in a way where you feel like you’re listening to the same track five times in a row (trust me, this happens a lot in pop-leaning tracks).
EP opener, ‘Explain Yourself’ begins with jittery analogue drum patterns and is a suspenseful slow burner that builds into a magical, immersively layered sound which compliments Melis’ exquisite vocal perfectly. Look out for the subtle male/female vocal parts on the EP too which are really powerful!
’Explain Yourself’ sits alongside Melis’ most pop-centric song ‘Piece of Your Heart’. ‘Waves’ follows, opening as a melancholic piano ballad before the production weaves invigorating, swirling electronica through more turbulent and rapid percussive textures, ending on a haunting, cinematic note.
’Falling into place’ is an ambient cut of electronica that sees Melis’ exquisite vocal softly cut through minimal trance textures and is sonically most overtly representative of the aquatic nature of the EP’s title. It flows like water.
‘Undercurrent’ closes purposefully on the dark and nervy ‘So Called Love’ which is my favourite track on the EP and it is measured in balancing singalong sensibility with sharper edges. Non-conformative but featuring poppy hooks in all the right places, ‘Undercurrent’ is a dynamically savvy and lyrically insightful EP full of tempestuous human emotion.
Words of Karla Harris