When Rina Sawayama unleashed her seminal album SAWAYAMA upon the world, it turned obvious that we weren’t simply witnessing the start of a brand new pop star, however a real inventive tour de pressure. Along with producer Clarence Readability, Sawayama engineered a sound that, though fuelled by nostalgia and her inherent pop music nerdiness, was totally unique. U-turning from nu-metal, to bubblegum pop, to R&B within the span of a single tune, this sound collectively along with her sharp, clever lyricism that managed to the touch on heady subject material with out sacrificing a hook, positioned her as essentially the most promising new voice in pop. Nonetheless, Sawayama has struggled to handle the identical form of mainstream adjoining success of her friends like her collaborator Charli XCX, although all of the elements have been lively for a significant breakthrough. Maintain The Lady, her newest single and the title monitor off her forthcoming album of the identical identify, is probably certainly one of Sawayama’s strongest choices up to now.
Maintain The Lady is a tune about discovering your means again to your self, and honouring your reality. In some ways, this theme is transposed into the music fairly efficiently. Whereas earlier singles from the album This Hell and Catch Me In The Air hinted towards Sawayama reigning in her stylistic pastiche in favour of one thing extra accessible, Maintain The Lady strikes the proper stability between provocateur and pop star. Opening with a hovering, clerical refrain, Maintain The Lady recollects the identical form of construction and tone employed by Madonna on Like A Prayer however carried out right here by the use of Bon Jovi. Sawayama’s voice echoes towards distant organ chords, angelic as a smooth two-one-two beat begins to bubble up from beneath her. Simply as you assume which path Maintain The Lady goes in, the tune swerves into piano pushed UKG for an earworm post-chorus. Strings swell, and the tune’s first verse flows into Anastatia-esque 2000’s guitar pop, earlier than beginning the cycle yet again. It’s thrilling, affecting, and wickedly sensible.
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Notably, Sawayama and Readability appeared to have settled into their craft of juxtaposition. Whereas the style bending on SAWAYAMA was typically jarring and tonally disjointed, typically deliberately so, Maintain The Lady flows into its segments with satisfying ease. The tune is impressively crafted. When its components come collectively on the put up second verse refrain, it feels revelatory. Ever the maximalist, following a bridge which sees Sawayama channel Ariana Grande she manages to squeeze in a key change. It’s a gloriously camp drama, and whereas latest songs have used the tactic flippantly, on Maintain The Lady it feels earned.
Watch the music video for Maintain The Lady beneath.
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