Bittersweet EP - Bandi
Artwork - Bittersweet
We’re doing some different things around here, and in light of writing about singles, I’m going to write about a project in full. I don’t typically listen to projects, but I was lucky enough to hear the whole thing before it was released and I was floored at how much I floated thru this whole EP. I hear a lot of music on all sides of damn near all genres, but this one made a different amount of noise.
Born and raised in Auckland, New Zealand, singer-songwriter Bandi combines sounds of soulful modern-day RnB with elements of current Pop Radio. She credits her upbringing in New Zealand and spending time as a child between the streets of São Paulo and the foothills of Los Angeles for the sound she represents, all of which is on full display on her new five-track EP titled, Bittersweet, which debuted on March 3rd.
I’m really lucky that this was the first project I wrote about. It came to me organically, and it turned out to be something that (as I listen to it again as I write this) came back to and I can remember these songs and the feelings I had when I first heard it at the end of February. I was blown away by the consistency, from top to bottom. From the sounds to the presentation to the rollout. This is an excellent example of how to do this whole thing right.
It features five different flavors of these Pop-Soul records, all of which fall under the theme that this EP is titled for. Those bittersweet feelings about love, partners, situations, and frankly, I was impressed at the ways Bandi and her team were able to create these different environments while remaining true to the core themes. Do you want that summertime high feeling? The lead single, “WGMI (We Gon Make It)” is as infectious as any record I’ve heard, but if you go high, you’re gonna feel that crash. That’s “Sweet Thang.” “Ain’t Nobody” takes a sort of Spanish-style romp (a la “Havana” by Camilla Cabello). “Lay Low” and “Lights Out,” although completely different sounds entirely, still stay in the theme of bittersweetness. All these songs tell stories individually, but they also play a role in the grand scheme of the tracklist. It’s awesome to follow along on the macro and micro perspectives.
The best part though is how it all flows together. The exit and entry points are really what tied the knot for me. The biggest thing I’ve tried to figure out is how do I make people believe in what I’m doing, and the sequencing was the final piece that really implored me to write about this EP. This whole project is sub-seventeen minutes, and if you’re looking for something that melds the many sides of RnB with Pop undertones, just in time for the weather to get better?
Stream Bittersweet EP by Bandi.
