A few weeks back, for her 1989 World Tour, Taylor Swift spent her Halloween doing a concert at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. A tradition of hers that involves inviting up all her talented, famous friends to perform with her so she can rub it in all normal people’s faces was still intact as she brought up a couple of special guests. Idina Menzel is great, right? She was there. She killed it, the usual. But a fresh, new, talented face was among Swift’s guests: Alessia Cara.
Swift and Cara sang a duet, and it was glorious. Cara’s soulful hit ‘Here’ may ring a bell, and you may have heard of her, but if you haven’t, I suggest you dedicate a day to being cooped up in your room and listening to her EP Four Pink Walls so that we can get in contact with one another and sing very awfully, and very loudly to it, together.
This is why:
The first single off the EP is a very touching song called Seventeen. Cara, a young soul herself, sings about being a younger girl and being impatient to become seventeen, and then seeing how fast life goes by and wanting to remain that age. Cara seriously needs to sing this song at a local nursing home. I’m sure she would gain a whole new, approving fanbase.
Cara also recalls some heartfelt phrases her parents would say to her that may resonate with her listening audience. Although this song leans toward sadness and regret in its meaning, the instrumentation is still upbeat enough to save you from any call-up-your-ex, Adele-esque, type of feelings. It is emotional, yet remains calm, fun, and collected.
Second on the EP is Here, her most popular song, and with very good reason. The situation in this song is every introvert’s life in a nutshell (not to generalize, I’m pretty sure there are many ambiverts who feel similarly). It is soulful tune that causes you to make that facet you make when you hear a really good song; you know, the one that is a cross between disgust and pain, but you’re just really into it? That face. It causes that face alongside a slow, meaningful, fist pump. In the song, Cara is explaining her inner-feelings and thoughts at a party that she really didn’t want to be at in the first place. Some very quotable, sincere, lyrics alongside passionate vocals, and an R&B rhythm equals that other really weird phenomenon that happens to you when a good song comes on. You know, the one where you very aggressively, and with slight a crescendo say “YES!!!!”.
Next in the track listing is ‘Outlaws’, a personal favorite. A Bonnie-and-Clyde-type love song, Cara says even if they were to be charged for crime she would still be by their side. Sounds like it might be a toxic relationship there Cara, but I guess love is love, nonetheless. For this song, you’ll want to bust out the satin gloves, sparkly dress, red lipstick, and back-up singers with vintage microphones. The song includes a fun horn that makes you mock the sound it produces, and catchy lyrics that make you want to gather some “shoo-boppers” to accompany your own terrible interpretation it.
There are still two other songs on this EP called ‘I’m yours’ and the namesake ‘Four Pink Walls’, but you should listen and fall in love with those on your own. So while the author of this review is by no means a music expert (I actually referred to a sound simply as a horn in last paragraph because I couldn’t identify the type of instrument), it’s safe to say that this is a very good EP. One thing is clear, Cara is talented, and you’ll likely be down for a windows-rolled-down, album-blaring drive with anyone willing to join you. Just download the EP and then BYOC (bring your own car). It is fun without trying too hard, pop without reaching too far to connect to an audience, and Cara is a dynamic force on the album. Get a taste by checking out this EP, or her new full-length album ‘Know-It-All’ which dropped on November 13th. You’ll like it.