FLETCHER wants you to get to know her in the most honest and authentic way possible. Her debut EP ‘Finding Fletcher’ was released in 2016 and laid the foundations as she introduced herself to listeners with vulnerable undertones of self discovery. From there she started unravelling deeper with the candidly honest EP ‘you ruined new york city for me’. This body of work was a intimately curated collection of thoughts in the wake of a break-up that birthed the hits ‘Undrunk’ and ‘All Love’. And now as she enters 2020 she’s ready to strip everything back to her rawest form possible and give you pure vulnerability through her emotionally endearing EP ‘The S(ex) Tapes’.
The bold collection of tracks is an exploration of heartbreak, and the continuous cycling that her and her ex have been stuck in over the past four years. Opening with ‘Silence’ she begins at the end of the relationship where she tries to have space so she can learn to be on her own again. She uses this song as the sonical bridge between her last release ‘Forever’ and this body of work with it’s groovy guitar riff led production. “All I need is time and space and silence. Cut communication cause I’m trying to learn that I can lose you and survive it” she sings during the pulsating chorus.
‘If I Hated You’ then hits you with some lyrical truths like “My bedtime is the darkest. That’s when I’m brokenhearted. The nighttime is the hardest. It’d be easy if I hated you”. WAY TOO RELATABLE. She then layers it with a super strong production that begins with a brooding and moody beat that intertwines with her seductive vocal delivery. She then switches it up for a groovy guitar baseline during the chorus which will have you thrusting away.
Switching up the production style, she gives you a mellowed out beat on ‘Bitter’ that hears her dropping sassy lyrics like “I know you think about me when you kiss her. I left a taste in your mouth, can she taste me now? I’m bitter”. As she walks away from her EX, she tries to move on during ‘The One’ which is lyrically the opposite concept to ‘Forever’. The song has one of the best DIY productions on the whole EP, and will leave you needing to experience it live ASAP.
‘Shh… Don’t Say It’ continues her trying to move on until someone admits that they have feelings for her which is definitely not what she wanted to hear. She incorporates a rhythmic and groovy production with a cool vocal delivery during the chorus.
Stripping it all back sonically, ‘Feel’ is the token raw piano ballad that will have your heart feeling like it’s been ripped out of your chest. With lyrics like, “So I’ll drink this wine like it’s medicine for the mind. Onto my tongue, cause I still taste your love”, she will have you sitting there in the pain with her.
Closing the EP with ’Sex (With My Ex)’, she inevitably circles back into the cycle with her ex. It’s a big uh-oh moment that makes a big cinematic EP closer. It’s honestly an anthem in it’s own right.
There are songs that feel comforting and like an intimate confessional directly to the listener, and there are also songs that make you want to go simultaneously dance and cry on a dance floor. And if that’s not a giant ass mood, then I don’t know what is.
‘The S(ex) Tapes’ is bold and endearing listen that will have you immediately captivated and wanting to push replay as soon as you finish so you can dive back into these vivid emotions.
Check out our chat with FLETCHER here