Carving out a musical path between alternative pop and pop-rock, Piper Connolly is here with her latest EP ‘she’s too much’ and it is, in one word, mind-blowing. If you miss the frenzied pop-rock sound of the 2000s, the sound of which there is a lack in the now, then really no look no further than here.
The very first song on the EP ‘beautiful life’ starts off with an absolute bang. Driven by a highly energetic pop-rock sound, the song, as will the rest of the EP, remind you of Olivia Rodorigo’s music. The conversational vocal bits in the song give the song a fresh sound, making it more engagement friendly. Taking it up from here, ‘body bag’ has that distinct badass quality, with rugged punk guitars roaring their way through the track, and with an absolutely intoxicating bassline that will take over your mind. The drums in the song are worthy of the description of something bringing the roof down, such is the energy. The bridge section strips itself back and brings about a violin sound, which is so unexpected but so, so welcome. Starting off softer ‘unapologetic’ will take you back to the 2000s Avril Lavigne sound, with its more sentimental lyricism clubbed with a softer pop-rock sound.
What needs to be said here after listening to three songs is that Connolly’s vocals are absolutely outstanding – it reins in rawness and emotion in a spectacularly balanced manner. The next song on the EP is ‘bubblegums and razorblades’ which has such a fun, spunk-filled groove that fits in with the done-with-you vibe that is overriding the lyrics. The chorus, like literally all the chorus sections here, will make you want to turn up those speakers and pull the car windows down. The bridge section in the song is filled with tension and anticipation despite the stripped back instrumentation, and then it rides into an explosive and cathartic close. Tapping into deep vulnerabilities, ‘better than this’ is all about wanting your partner to choose someone better than you, and it brings this idea to a beautifully melancholic yet vibrant fruition. The song with its many descriptions makes the persona in the song fully visible in our minds. Bringing an epic EP to a close, ‘joyride’ brings in the sentimentality in some songs and the outright raw and spunk in the others together, to create a kind of consolidation of the overall sounds in the record.
You simply have to listen to this listen, and that is no exaggeration; It is absolutely rare in the current music scene.