The Breakdown
American-German singer-songwriter and producer PHEA invites us into her unique avant-pop world on the new EP ‘Healing Hearts’.
As a survivor of potentially fatal Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, PHEA found expression and comfort in her music in the years that followed her open-heart surgery and implantation of her first defibrillator, at the age of 10. As the press release says: “Upon awakening from a medically induced coma, she emerged with battery operated, cyborg circuitry attached to her human heart.” This traumatic experience shapes her sound and her image, and in a turn of fate, is the very thing which makes her so appealing and unique as an artist.
Introducing her melancholic, glitchy, synthetic pop sound on the slow sweller ‘Running’, the EP quickly sets a dark, otherworldly tone. Emotional, pensive and undeniably beautiful, the track perfectly balances catchy melodies and pop tendencies with atmospheric, cinematic and yet still warming lo-fi and fuzzy electronic elements to create a entrancing sonic experience. Amidst the swirling synths and crunching beats, PHEA’s angelic lead vocal acts as a guide, pulling you through the dreamy state induced by the tracks instrumentation.
Moving into the second track, the rock tinted previous single ‘I Saw You’, PHEA demonstrates another side to her sound with a more energetic, intense experience. Opening with a fuzzy synth bass and Phea’s filtered vocals, with dappled electronic rim shots bouncing subtly from side to side, the track sets a dark tone from the off before bursting into life in it’s stunning ear-worm chorus. Dark and moody, this is one of the EPs stand-outs, it’s a intensely catchy, anthemic banger which manages to still perfectly reflect the image and musicality PHEA wishes to portray across the EP’s 5 tracks.
Elsewhere on the EP the gentle, beautiful swells of ‘Dark Thoughts’ capture an essence of Lapsley, while the emotive, reflective ‘When I’m Falling’ emphasises PHEA’s silky, effortlessly controlled vocal underpinned tingle-inducing Modulated synth washes and warming piano.
Closing with the experimental, beautiful and glitching ‘Breaking Bones’, PHEA moves between moments of serenity and angst ridden expression with ease. Like a symphony with varying sections which all intertwine with ease, with a sense they belong, this track is truly breathtaking. Never before have I heard an artist perfectly blend the intense electronics of Jon Hopkins with the gentle melancholy of London Grammar, it’s breathtaking, definitely the EP’s standout tune for me.
5 tracks which take you on a journey through PHEA’s darkest thoughts, though her lowest emotional moments but also deliver an unwavering optimism and an obvious innate yearning to make music, this is a truly immersive and expressive experience. Refreshingly experimental and intense, this is pop but pop with an edge, pop with spikes corners which makes you concentrate and pay attention and I’m definitely here for it.
Listen below:
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