Album review by Charlotte Poynton
One of the brightest gems of the Meanjin music scene, Eves Karydas, has burst back into our playlists and listening rotation with her second studio album Burnt Tapes. Karydas displays levels of career growth since 2018’s ‘summerskin”, with the self-managed artist taking six years to release EP’s and singles whilst crafting her sophomore project and first independently released record. Burnt Tapes heralds a new chapter for Eves Karydas, showcasing her ability to shift seamlessly through genres, angles and narratives as will be highlighted through a track-by-track review below.
Girlboss
Burnt Tapes starts off with a documentation of the current circulating pressures of conforming to the imagery of an ideological ‘Girlboss’, defined culturally as a strong and independent woman who stives to oppose the patriarchy and excel in both their career and personal lives. Acoustic guitar pairs with a dreamy synth to convey the clash of authenticity with shiny facades – creating a weighted commentary on modern societal appearances – whilst Karydas sings of her dismay of not fitting the role of the new age ‘Girlboss’. This song sets the tone for the raw and honest appeal of the album, taking a step back from the previous sugar-coated pop approach that we have come to know and love from the album of ‘Summerskin’ and subsequent Karydas projects.
Favourite lyrics: “I wanna be everything, both the best and the worst. Wanna be unbreakable but still someone you could hurt”.
Sunday Drive
Though we are living through the depth of a southern-hemisphere winter right now, track two of ‘Sunday Drive’ transports audiences to a rosy cheeked summer afternoon. Bouncy two syllable lyrical phrases in the verses act as the small umbrella in this beachside cocktail of seasonal fruit and subtle yet ever-powerful synth patterns. If you have a yearning for the latter months of the year, perhaps a picnic or a drive to the coastal suburbs, ‘Sunday Drive’ is the song to tide you over until the temperature returns to its warmer and much preferred state.
Favourite lyrics: “I see my reflection in your gaze, at this speed maybe we could go to space”.
Hair Down
In true testament to stretching the genre boundaries with this album, track three of ‘Hair Down’ is a love letter to the girls of 2000’s RnB laced radio hits. Layered vocals create harmonies over a nostalgic beat, as Karydas sings of the comfort of finding solace and peace in a person. The only thing that could elevate ‘Hair Down’ to a further level of transcendent bliss would be a collaboration with a rapper for a verse or bridge, creating further reminiscence of Selena Gomez’s 2017 hit ‘Fetish’ featuring Gucci Mane.
Favourite lyrics: “And I’ve seen sun and better days, but I’ve seen you stay with me all the way”.
Burnt Tapes
The titular track of Burnt Tapes comes in at track four, with suave lyrics detailing a secret and potentially scandalous relationship. Posing the question of “Would you be the love to ruin my life?”, Karydas drives the relationship with a bold nature, supported by an almost carnival reminiscent synth and dreamy chord progression. Throwing all caution to the wind, the character conveyed on ‘Burnt Tapes’ juxtaposes the soft and vulnerable figure detailed in previous track ‘Girlboss’, exemplifying the layers of humanity and diverse facades performed by Karydas throughout her career.
Favourite lyrics: “This is the kind of love that could ruin my life”.
Call Me!
Track five of Burnt Tapes, ‘Call Me!’ is a cute titular callback to Blondie’s 1980’s hit. Overflowing with the adolescent charm that grows in abundance at the start of a blossoming love, Karydas drops cheesy daydream scenarios and cheeky adlibs whilst yearning for a phone call from the one she loves. A casually charismatic and youthful song, ‘Call Me!’ carries all the traits of a modern pop girlie hit, echoing in the strains of Sabrina Carpenter and Chappel Roan.
Favourite lyrics: “Please don’t be the one who almost called”.
Take 2
‘Take 2’ comes in at track six of Burnt Tapes, with a stripped back instrumental build to allow for the paramount lyrics to shine fully. In a similar strain to ‘Hair Down’, this track buys into a nostalgic angle and would feel most at home played over the speakers at a café or record store; a non-commercialised indie pop hit hiding in the folds of a soon-to-be classic Aussie contemporary album. Karydas sings of hyper specific details which translate into widely relatable emotions of regret and yearning for a ‘Take 2’, as if a precursor to current pop hits such as ‘Girl, so confusing” by Charli XCX.
Favourite lyrics: “But to be fair, in our defence babe we did it in style”.
Sideways
Karydas shades her muse with subtle lyrical digs in track seven of ‘Sideways’. Rewriting the narrative about having nothing nice to say, this track exemplifies how cathartic it is to sing about how someone has wronged you. The cool and collected nature of ‘Sideways’ is further supported by a jazzy synth melodic line in the instrumental break, further diversifying the sonic vibe of this album.
Favourite lyrics: “First I thought it was cute, now it’s giving me a migraine”.
Best Light
‘Best Light’, sliding in at track eight of Burnt Tapes, feels the most reminiscent of an earlier Eves Karydas track. Bursting with shiny pop excellence, this song is a slice of loved-up joy that you cannot help but smile when listening to. Boasting bouncy percussion and sparkling synth, the melodic vocal hooks in the chorus make ‘Best Light’ sound like an excerpt from the ‘summerskin’ album, except laced with a level of maturity gained from years of growth.
Favourite lyrics: “No second guessing, cards on the table, here you are by my side, willing and able”.
Save Me For A Saturday
Track nine of ‘Save Me For A Saturday’ stands out as an acoustic, guitar driven piece strips back the glitzy façade and allows Karydas and her vocals to shine. Stripping down the popstar imagery to be vulnerable and in touch with her inner yearning, Karydas best describes this track as the soundtrack of a “tucked away bistro” that you’d stumble upon during an adventure “somewhere vaguely European in the summer”. ‘Save Me For A Saturday’ is the perfect track for fans of Stella Donnelly and all lovers of romantic yearning, sundresses, and golden hour.
Favourite lyrics: “We’re just here for a good time, no work just pleasure. So keep it on the weekends baby, no pressure”.
Weird Energy / Thick Of It
Closing off the sophomore album from Eves Karydas is track ten, titled ‘Weird Energy/Thick Of It’. Standing out initially due to the unique title and its status as the only explicit labelled track on the album, I had high expectations for this closing track. Starting off with the ‘Weird Energy’ portion of the track, audiences are met with a mature pop piece, which could easily pass as a bonus track from Selena Gomez’s 2015 album ‘Revival’. ‘Thick Of It’ acts as a form of emotional detox after the whirlwind of love, lust, angst, and pain flowing through the tracks of Burnt Tapes.
Favourite lyrics: “Like a black cat walking where it shouldn’t be, it follows me, this energy”.
If you have been loving this collection of vulnerable anthems, be sure to catch Eves Karydas on her Burnt Tapes Tour at The Brightside on the 11th of July, or later this year at Ability Fest.
