ELIO introduced herself to the world last year with her impressive debut EP ‘u and me, but mostly me’, which immediately hit listeners in the feels and had you simultaneously dancing and crying along with her. But that was only the beginning. The rising pop-star has just dropped her second EP ‘Can You Hear Me Now?’ which certifies her as one of the most exciting breakthrough artists of right now.
This collection of tracks is the bedroom-pop soundtrack for every emotion possible. Taking you on a reflective journey of highs and lows, she will have you dancing along to the playful ‘CHARGER’ and then feeling raw emotions in ‘Fabric’ within mere minutes. Her songwriting is very direct, and almost conversational with its flow of vulnerable thoughts. The experimental production then adds a playful and bold layer to some tracks, before highlighting the emotional foundations in others so perfectly. With each track you don’t know what you’re exactly going to get, and that’s the most exciting thing about listening to this EP for the very first time.
Opening with ‘Jackie Onassis’ she immediately delivers a bold pop sound with a big hook that hears her imagining running away from all her responsibilities. “Know I run away just to cope with a bad day” she quips during the opening moments of the song before later exclaiming “I’ll keep taking antidepressants. We can drive away from this adolescence”. Escapism is a coping mechanism that so many people use, just like myself, and this is going to the our anthem for all the daydreams to help temporarily solve our problems.
Leaning into the future hit ‘CHARGER’, she puts a playful spin on an awkward or emotional moment by confessing she left her charger and needs to go back and get it because it’s obviously a very essential item. “And I wanna come back cause I left my, left my, left my charger. But I don’t wanna go back, It’ll make it, make it, make it, make it harder”. The hook is ADDICTIVE, and easily one of the catchiest tracks of the year so far. The production is very upbeat and has this pulsating energy that will have you immediately drawn to. And not to mention, Charli XCX has already confirmed she’s working on a remix of the track (!!!). ‘When u saw love’ also has BIG pulsating pop energy that embraces the importance of self love and self acceptance while delivering you a ridiculously catchy hook that hears her asking you to show her your Levis.
‘hurts 2 hate somebody’ is where the EP begins to shift into a more reflective and emotional tone. Reflecting on feeling the heaviness of resentment, she finally gets the power within herself to move on and stop allowing herself to feel his negatively. “Sometimes I just wish we’d never met cause I’d rather feel nothing if it hurts to hate somebody” she honestly sings. ‘elio.irl’ is then a dreamy moment about missing her family and boyfriend while she’s away for work, but the song that will ruin you the most is ‘Fabric’. With lyrics like “Haven’t looked you in the eyes since last week. Way too busy crying in the, crying in the fabric” and “But I wish I could breathe. I wish I could let go of this feeling that all of my friends got all they need and I’m on my own”, she reflects on where she’s exactly going in life. Realising she needs to change her perspective, she looks towards a brighter next year instead of getting so caught up within her emotions. Accompanied by just an acoustic guitar, this song is the perfect EP closer as it’s intimate and highly reflective.
‘Can You Hear Me Now?’ is a bold and exciting collection of tracks that cements ELIO as any artist you NEED to get acquainted with in 2021, because soon her name is going to be all over your lips.