Samantha Urbani - Policies of Power EP


Samantha Urbani
Policies of Power EP
2017
Spotify

Samantha Urbani has made a name for herself in the New York underground pop scene. Somewhere between Carly Rae Jepsen and MUNA her music is soaked in pop but also blends in elements from the 80s, 90s and Today. The drums on the first track "Hints & Implications" set the tone for an album that is going to be electropop almost to a fault. She tries to capture that big booming drumline like we got from early Phil Collins, but it doesn't quite live up. The music can also feel a bit cluttered with lots of sounds going on but not really bringing in that unified sound. "1 2 3 4" is a great example of this. At first it sounds pretty damn good, but as it goes on it starts to feel a bit thin and the lyrics while well written don;t posses that hook power to really set the song off. There is a great little bongo breakdown during the bridge of "1 2 3 4" but with so much else going on it never really gets to shine. There is so much indie infused in this pop music that it loses some of the thing that would really make it great, relatability. It feels like pop meant for people who "really appreciate good pop" but in taking that stance it alienates the audience it is going for. Policies of Power feels like an album that thinks you should like, just because of what it is rather than trying to hammer the point home. Some of these songs were recorded over a year ago which can add to some of the dated quality, yet there is something that sounds right with this record.

"U Know I Know" has some of Urbani's best delivery and shows that she can alter her style from just being a singer which is a welcome switch up. "Go Deeper" also has a much richer quality to it, even blending in a bit of trip hop to set it apart. This song is different enough to stand out and poppy enough to sing a long to, right in that sweet spot. However when the song drags on for over six minutes you are left scratching your head again. "Time Time Time" suffers the same fate of being just slightly off from being a hit. There is a great finger snap, swirling vocals and many other great elements but the industrial drums and lack of a real hook leave the song going in one ear and out there other. Two years ago the saxophone on "Time Time Time" would have blown people away, but here it just feels old and lost in the mix. It is sad that this record doesn't seem to connect like it should but it just lacks so many elements that would really set it off. Not terrible, but Policies of Power is not going to set the world a blaze either.

6.3 out of 10

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