ANIA - Coward
Pop, Synthpop, Alternative Pop
Budapest, Hungary
Overall Impression: "Coward" is a marvelous love letter to the 80's pop era scene, with it's hard hitting synths, powerful vocal performances, and that oh so iconic drum sound that's so closely associated with the genre, ANIA has captured a wonderfully retro aesthetic that is both ultra stylish and undeniably catchy. There has been a big resurgence in the 80's style as of late and it's great to see artists adopt the personality of the era and inject it into their creative works, especially when it's done so well.
Strongest Point(s): The vocal performance is excellent, fitting the style of track superbly and showcasing a great amount of depth and character, ANIA does a brilliant job of handling the equally well-written lyrics with great confidence and a fine delicate touch. The vocals are backed by a very well crafted and arranged backing consisting of thick bass synths, breakneck drums, smooth lush sounding pads, and delicate melodic leads which combine to make a texturally rich soundscape for the vocals to glide over, speaking of texture, the way in which the texture is continually changing to highlight certain elements of the track is brilliant and an excellent songwriting tool to utilize, sounds weave in and out to mark a transition with great nuance and make for an exciting arrangement that feels organic and well rounded. To top things off, this is all presented in a deftly-produced mix that ensures all of the tracks many diverse elements are perfectly balanced and given the opportunity to breathe, resulting in a crisp polished production that still manages to retain the individual characteristics of each and every part. Great work!
Target Audience Appeal: This will certainly appease fans of a number of synth based pop styles, synth-pop, power-pop, and synth-wave to name a few.
Artist target suggestions: Washed Out, M83, The Midnight, Gunship, Electric Youth, KRISTINE, Le Cassette, Perturbator, Trevor Something, Kalax, Tommy '86, Kavinsky, Chormatics, Mint Julep, FM Attack, Dana Jean Phoenix, Michael Oakley, Earthshifter, The Night Hour
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About the Reviewer:
Andre Avanessian is a freelance session musician, composer, and sound engineer based in the U.K. Having studied music production and composition at a degree level, he has taken his passion for all things audio-related to a level that has allowed him to become both a competent musician and performer. Being a self-confessed "Guitar Nerd" Andre has been continually studying the guitar, as well as teaching it, helping students both learn the instrument, develop their songwriting, and how to become proficient in home recording.