SAWAYAMA is a powerful debut album from Japanese-British singer/songwriter Rina Sawayama that will leave listeners reeling from her masterful combination of clean vocals and tracks infused with bright, satirical pop. It manages to satirize themes like opulence and capitalism in pop so well that at times it’s too genuine.
XS and STFU! (an acronym for “shut the fuck up”) are two of the strongest songs off the album. Both offer fascinating storylines (engaging in the mockery of materialism and touching on the grossness of cultural appropriation respectively) and the duality of electric guitar mixed with lighter, electropop moments. ***XS in particular is reminiscent of MARINA’s (previously Marina and the Diamonds) infectious track “Primadonna” in terms of its criticism of self-indulgence cloaked in attitude-drenched vocals.
If it were a food, SAWAYAMA would be a high-quality, bubbly wine; it’s traditionally sweet and easy to swallow like other pop music, and its production quality is superb, yet it’ll have you riding a high with an exciting, unique perspective. The people are hungry for a new taste in pop music, and Sawayama offers it to us on a silver platter.
Chandy is a biology major/chemistry minor who's been a staff writer, Arts editor, and Managing Editor at The Cascade. She began writing in elementary school when she produced Tamagotchi fanfiction to show her peers at school -- she now lives in fear that this may have been her creative peak.
