[CANBERRA SINGLE REVIEWS] Problems is the new single for Hope Wilkins and follows the release of her acclaimed debut [ ] EP Coffee Cups. Hope wrote the track with fellow Canberra artists Joel Tyrell (Hands Like Houses) and Lucy Sugerman and is, as the PR blurb states, ‘the first step towards her newly refined sonic identity.’
HOPE WILKINS PROBLEMS
That sonic identity is a definitive leap into some mainstream territory: clean production, a focus on a multi-tiered vocal approach, contemporary rhythmic additions, and space enough to reveal the tonal expanse of Hope’s voice. After the raw and earthy palette of her previous releases, Problems sounds quite polished, smooth, and more across-the-board accessible. The song style is also different, which is undoubtedly a result of the collaboration mentioned above. We now have a marriage of Hope’s high wattage range, direct fire lyrics, and emotion-fuelled performative presence, with
NINA LEO RECOVER [
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Canberra music artist Nina Leo has been performing locally as frontwoman and guitarist of The Differs and opening for many known Canberra locals such as Slow Dial, Charlotte & the Harlots, Parklands and many more. Her debut solo single Recover has just been released with an EP due near the end of 2021. The central melodic motif around which Nina has structured Recover is a circuitous designation of notes, woven to a direct and undoubtedly personal lyric.
a pop-imbued series of melodic lines. Problems sounds like a very capable contender for sustained radio play, with its internal dynamic a good mix of predictability and expectation. And its hooks are not so obvious as to seem contrived but instead have a healthy amount of stealth to them. The chorus can linger long after the track’s final vocal adlibs, and the interplay between acoustic guitar and machine beat has a resonating quality also. The song explores the role of alcohol in a young adult’s life—a worthy and no doubt potentially perilous subject matter—and Hope handles this field of sociology and psychology with suitable delicacy and ambiguity. The juxtaposition of pop-inspired, contemporary R&B flavoured sensibilities with such a weighty topic enhances the track, embellishing it with a dark sweetness whose attraction is multidimensional, fertile, and affecting. Problems is certainly a refashioning for Hope, an extension that, conversely and surprisingly reveals, in a much starker manner than present in her earlier releases, the breadth and depth of her unquestionable talent. VINCE LEIGH
This is, in part, initiated by the opening line, Hold me close and say you won’t let go, and continues throughout. With music, it is often the barebones, furtively simple application of sensibilities that can wreak the most emotional havoc upon the listener, and the examples are limitless. Recover’s decelerated unravelling, its ruminative and tender sensory features are, during some moments, disarming, and during others reaffirming, though in an oblique way. Leo has managed to navigate through a terrain that will likely resonate with many others, with Recover’s unassuming traits sure to have a decidedly unearthly effect. VINCE LEIGH
Minimalist by design, the track also harnesses a wash of subtle textures and sonic garnishes, spread throughout, helping to provide a complimentary yet almost diametric backdrop. The rawness is juxtaposed by these aberrations, with Nina’s vocal free-floating around it, issuing notes of quiet meditation while maintaining a sombre, quiet solitary strength. Although the dominant palette is restricted to acoustic guitar, vocal, and some very appetising reverb, with the aforementioned add-ons colouring the landscape, Recover sounds quite expansive; what gives the track its breadth and depth are apparent. Embellished by the swaying, muted nature of the rhythmic pulse, there is a sense of the cathartic here, which one can attribute to the choice of chords, melody, and Nina’s performance; musical gestures imbued with varying tonal complexions, the most significant of which is a self-assuredness that engenders an empathetic quality. PAGE 38
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