A song about addiction and the glorification of vices, One Last Drag feels like pressing a glass up against an adjoining wall to earwig your cool AF older sibling’s edgy pop music.
Hayley Mary’s insouciant speak-singing makes listeners lean in to grasp the full picture (think Debbie Harry’s Rapture rap). There’s also something Britpoppy about these melodies. And a Suzi Quatro-esque rocker spirit at the heart of it all. Okay, we’re only one song in and already fully invested.
Some Rainbows features shiny, optimistic riffs that evoke Where The Streets Have No Name. Ooft, be sure to listen out for that glass-shattering high note in The Ballad Of Ruby Wednesday (not an actual ballad)!
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“And I will suck your cocktails/ I want your residency” – the winking, absurd, upbeat Primordial Afterglow, with its clap-happy beat, fades out with exuberant brass and jovial laughter.
Eighteen – a Lana Del Rey-adjacent synth-pop track about longing for a past she wanted to escape – interpolates dialogue samples from Mario Caiano’s 1965 horror film Nightmare Castle as well as You Spin Me Round (Like A Record) excerpts: “You spin me right ‘round, baby, right ‘round…”
Intriguing and unpigeonholeable, Roman XS is stylistically diverse. But just like heading off on a spontaneous road trip, wearing just the clothes on your back, it’s a thrilling ride. Ideal for summer playlisting.
LABEL: INDEPENDENT
RELEASE: OUT NOW
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