Simple pop should remain simple! It seems trendy nowadays to make music complex (Thanks Polyphia). Add more chords, flex your technical abilities, and make your audience work real hard to keep up. Not to say that there’s no fun in that… but there should always remain a place for simple music. Easy-listening gems that flow by harmlessly. And in that sphere, Amie Jay fits like a glove.
Amie is a songstress from Wimbledon. Lush, confident, and lavish is how I would describe both the artist and her home city. On this EP, Cancer Sun, Amie sings of her star sign. If you know any Cancers, you sure know they’re temperamental, tend to harbor insecurities, be closed off… but more so reliable, strong, and oh so sweet… and that latter one is the one best on display here.
Starting from the poppy, jumpy ‘Unashamed’. The production quality is astonishing and the mix is lush and harmonious. What lacks in the vocal dynamics is made up for with a very engaging composition with multiple sections that vary in magnitude without ever sounding dull or flat. ‘Cancer Sun’ might be the least memorable song on the project, with a grand sound and a minimal beat, and a huge chorus section. It’s the shortest song and despite being as sweet as anything, it doesn’t go long enough or offer enough elements to make it stand out. ‘Sweet Nostalgia’ on the other hand is a song that’s perfectly at home being blasted on Netflix’s next super popular teen drama. With a driving beat and a very efficient mix and vocals, it’s a song that perfectly utilizes Amie’s whole vocal abilities and puts them where they shine the most. But despite the huge praise, the title of my favorite on the EP goes to the closer ‘Start Again’… sweet, grand, warm, and emotive, a song that shows Amie as a mature songwriter capable of more than radio hits. Because this song might lull a little too slow for radio stardom, but is heartfelt enough to win over a staunch lover of music.
This EP is very good. But it is surely missing a very important element… many more songs. Thanks Amie!