Sunday, 16 August 2015

EP Review: Messing With My Head by Rosie Samaras


It’s been a while since its debut release, but ‘Messing With My Head’ by singer/songwriter Rosie Samaras is no less enticing than when it was first released, appealing to audiences both young and old. The EP as a whole is far different from any of the material I’ve looked at before, with an alternative crisp sound that’s just as ironically exciting as the rock tunes I endlessly revel over.

Throughout the EP Rosie uses her smooth vocals to convey sharp emotions and she does so using a characteristic tone of voice which makes her music especial and personally more enjoyable. ‘Messing With My Head’ is the first track on the EP and as a forefront song, acts as a marker for the quality of the remaining tracks. Lyrically it’s beautiful and the melody creates a serene mood which when matched with her intense control of tone helps to create something individualistic and appealing. The delicate picking pattern combined with the assured guitar strums provides just the right sense of serenity to create a compelling track. Opposing this is ‘Goodbye For Now’ which unlike ‘Messing With My Head’ uses a more up-beat tempo. Really trying to show her breadth of talent, Rosie brings forth a tune which contributes the attitude associated with strong feminine artists such as Christina Aguilera. This is a much stronger song in terms of showing brutality towards this theme of love and relationships which overhangs the subject matter for the EP.

Bittersweet is a word definitive of the music on this EP. When listening to the songs it’s not hard to sense the current of tranquillity and repose that the faintly doleful tracks provide, such as is found in ‘Hard To Forget’ and ‘Bad Idea’. In ‘Hard To Forget’, lyrics such as ‘”you keep me wishing on that star” are reminiscent of childhood dreams, creating a story about innocence and naivety that resonates with many young girls. It’s lyrics like this that will have people turning to Rosie’s music in a bid to identify with her and support her music exponentially. Moreover, this concept of a story is something that makes Rosie’s music iconic and potentially the most successful. ‘Bad Idea’ begins with an intro that opens up as if Rosie’s ready to divulge into a story, and I love the way that as a songwriter, rather than explaining her feelings explicitly, she alternatively paints a picture with her words. The imagery this stimulates is dramatically vivid and powerful.

Usually I would consider the negatives of an artists’ music or sound but in finding little to criticise, what I can contribute more so here is belief that Rosie’s music will establish itself as she gets older. Currently the EP uses a series of instruments which gives it a lively appeal, currently rooting her music in the acoustic genre. However, with the right progression, she may even benefit by experimenting with adding synth sounds to delve into the pop/ RnB genre which would really help to define her voice. Already the high notes found across the entire EP attest to her fine-tuned control of voice; so the talent is there. For now however, this is the first of many releases building towards a more developed sound.

Rosie Samaras is bound to find maturity over the years in the development of her music, but as of now, she can still yet convey a dedicated amount of emotion, making her music inspiring and beautiful to admire. I’m not a massive of fan of female artists’ sound, and it’s hard to pin-point exactly why that is so. Any singer with a unique sound and the ability to invest so much thought and feeling in their music is admirable in my eyes and I’m glad to say I’ve found a great singer in Rosie for showing just this.

‘Messing With My Head’ is out now on iTunes.

You can also find Rosie on Facebook, Twitter and SoundCloud.

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