Sometimes I randomly find things on iTunes that pleasantly surprise me. I was certainly thrilled when I found a new single by Priscilla Ahn, one of my favorite artists, a few days ago. And it did not disappoint me.
“Leave It Open” finds Priscilla venturing into the realm of electro-pop a bit more so than she’s done in the past and it’s quite the delightful number. “All you ever needed, was all you ever had,” she sings, her precious voice soaring high above various electro-beats and blips and sparkling synth. As always, her lyrics are poetic and witty and she sounds nothing short of adorable.
…And there’s a B-side! It’s called “Remember How I Broke Your Heart” and it’s a rather insightful electro-ballad with down-tempo, thudding beats, shimmering synth and droning bass. Musically, it especially calls to mind the sound of Bjork’s Homogenic album. Lyrically, it’s in the vein of Butch Walker’s best ballads. And that’s high praise, as Butch has written some of the best ballads by any artist during the past decade and a half. Here’s my favorite part: “After all that we’ve been through, the damages I’ve bestowed on you, all the jealousy you engraved in me, the end was near, it had to be, so I called you from Ohio, from a parking lot of a motel, to say nothing and yet everything, I remember I was trembling.” Suffice to say that this one tells a story and, since it’s a love story, I think it’s one most of us can relate to. And even if you can’t, this is a damn fine, intoxicating gem of an electro-pop song that casts a spell you won’t be able to resist.
These songs especially remind me of Azure Ray’s excellent foray into electronica, their brilliant EP As Above So Below. If you liked that one, you’ll be listening to these new tunes by Priscilla on repeat.
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