Notes

Rina Sawayama Posters
Posters


Rina Sawayama, the singer-songwriter who had a groundbreaking mini-album released in the year 2019 has launched her debut album SAWAYAMA. It's a statement of her importance as a brand new voice in the world of pop. While the album is a mix of raw talent and a rich tradition the album's bold and maximalist style can often feel like flavor profiles that do not blend.


It's partly due to the album isn't able to be able to integrate the expressions and idioms it has developed on its own into the pop genre it wants to create. SAWAYAMA’s first single"Minor Feelings," for instance, starts with a buzzing reverie and a rich ballad. Rina Sawayama Merch turns into an operatic distortion riff, threat to rip her apart. "All these minor feelings are tearing me down,"" she sings, appearing more depressed than happy.



This is a sharp contrast from the swashbuckling X Factor-style balladry that was her breakout hit RINA or the collagist ethos that was evident in her Motomami and Jockstrap's I Love You Jennifer B. The albums featured a humorous, playful wit that was able to revel in the grotesqueries of so-called bad taste while having a lot of humour. As a contrast, Hold the Girl occasionally appears to be trying too hard to be bizarre.


In a society where TikTok has taught us to accept that the music of every era is now perpetually available, and we don't know which obscure or past song will make its way to our feeds the next time, it's not surprising that pop records try to get inspiration from what's trending. But this strategy works only when the artist has the ability to adapt the language she's employing. SAWAYAMA's lyrics were loaded with concepts from therapy that were clunky enough to fit into pop songs, repeated allusions to weather (rain rhymes with pain) and start-from-the-top songwriting ("Frankenstein").


The sprinkling of namechecks--including Paris Hilton, Britney, Whitney and Princess Diana--feels a little too empty for an album whose climax is a riotous defiant call to arms about welcoming homophobes to Hell and passing the vodka bottle around. This stunt can be excused in the context of using it to mock the superficial nature of online interaction. However, this time this ploy has turned into a snare.

Here's my website: https://www.rinasawayamamerch.com/