EVALINA’s ‘Fickle Heart’: A playful pop take on love and letting go.
EVALINA’s new EP, ‘Fickle Heart’ is full of upbeat pop songs detailing the aftermath of a messy relationship. It recognises the toxicity of the patterns of the past and casts it all away. She employs the fun, casual lyricism of early Ariana Grande alongside the carefree energy of 2010s chart bops.
The opening track, ‘Too Bad’ has a catchy chorus melody and details how the muse never knows what they have until it’s gone. The EP is best introduced by this song: the confident attitude, the assertive tone, the euro-pop influences, dance production, and digestible hooks. EVALINA has the making of a 2010s artist, between her radio-friendly vocals and ear for pop melody. Moving forward, I’m interested to hear something more raw and vulnerable from EVALINA, either a ballad or stripped-back pop song, both of which could definitely highlight and complement her vocal skill, as well as allowing her to cover new ground lyrically.
If you’re in the mood for nostalgic pop, ‘Biggest Fan’ is for you. EVALINA belts about how she wants the subject, and presumably listeners, to be her ‘biggest fan’. The final chorus showcases some very impressive vocal delivery- the only other moment which could compete would be the end of the bridge on ‘Happy You’re Happy’, a straightforward song about how EVALINA has to fake being happy for her ex in his new relationship.
The closing track, ‘Rough Patch’, takes us all the way back to the denial phase of a breakup, explaining how EVALINA would tell her friends that the relationship was not over, just being tested and going through a difficult time. This is an interesting finale moment, maybe suggesting that EVALINA will never reckon with the facts of her love life, instead always going back to the beginning. The tracklisting of the EP reflects the rocky trajectory of the heartbreak at its centre: anger, frustration, obsession, false acceptance, and then denial. You work your way through it entirely, just to go back to the beginning.
