Electro pop star and classically trained harpist TATYANA’s debut LP, ‘Treat Me Right’, is a record possessing all the nostalgia of the 2010’s alongside the promise of a unique future.
Releasing several singles since 2020 and an EP (‘Shadow On The Wall’) that was met with enthusiastic acclaim, TATYANA (AKA Tatyana Philips) and producer Joseph Mount take a flying leap into this 10 track project.
Tight-roping between tongue and cheek anthems and heart wrenching sincerity, this multi-talented artist guides us through her own mind as she lives through the first encounter, the crush, the highs and lows and heartbreaks of new love, through which she experiences the world through a new dreamlike lens.
‘Kiss Me Right Now’ sets the tone, a straightforward and classic bubblegum pop anthem, with imagery and lyrical soundness emanating that of early Katy Perry and the self-aware futurism of BANKS.
As well as having a comprehensible handle on the pop formula, TATYANA’s classical training gives her an understanding of musical arrangement and form that enables her to layer vocals and instruments with satisfying synchronicity. Tracks range from this flirty bouncy synth driven sound to the softer, lilting harmonies of ‘On My Mind’, a hazy summer soother only made more ethereal with the harp dancing through the sound.
The title track ‘Treat Me Right’ not only satisfies the punchy pop itch but presents an autonomy that is sometimes lost in love songs. TATYANA makes it clear she knows what she wants and she’s not afraid to get it, treating the album track list like a set of commandments. “So cherished and desired, when you treat me right.”
Again the hard exterior is balanced with a vulnerability, with ‘Treat Me Right’ also presenting a yearning for touch and closeness that weighed heavily on many of us during the isolation of the not so distant past.
TATYANA’s writing paired with Mount’s production is polished but not untouchable, with ‘Introduction’ creating an earnest dialogue with the listener and tracks such as 'Make Amends' emanating bedroom pop intimacy that has become so prominent in the last few years. Synths pulse softly behind a melancholic melody, “it’s always ugly in the end” she sighs, giving the impression this kind of ending is sadly familiar.
7/10
Words: Oshen Douglas McCormick
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