Written by Tia
Daniela Andrade's music career flourished on YouTube, and that's where she's continued to share her work with her 1.3 million subscribers. Although most well known for her covers, which are delicately stripped down to quiet, raw acoustics with lots of reverb, she came out this past year with an EP of four original songs, paired with gorgeous music videos, that any fan of indie female vocalists should look into.
The EP, Shore, shows the deteroration of a relationship over the course of the songs "Digital Age," "Sound," "Come Around," and "Shore." Here's my song-by-song breakdown, including the visually impressive, completely worth watching music videos:
The haunting intro to the EP slowly draws you into Andrade's world. It's modern, with a modern sound, and a stylish, modern video. It is a bit confusing in the context of the full album, as this feeling of near-sci-fi vibes doesn't continue throughout the story, but instead shows a world that the main character will be moving away from. Over the course of the EP, you find that she goes from this cold, techy city to her warm, rural hometown at the very end. It's a great arc, which the EP shows well, but starting with this song might throw you off a bit, as it presents you with a world that you never see again by the end of the album. A bit confusing, but still an extremely intriguing start for what will prove to be a visually, lyrically, and musically beautiful ride. And all that said, I don't think you should watch the videos out of order. Just be prepared to see things change very drastically from this song to the other three.
Hands down my favorite song on the EP, "Sound" proves Andrade can do much more than just mellow acoustic tracks. No hate for the stripped down sound, but this song really capitalizes on Andrade's vocals and shows off a new, thrilling side of the kind of music she can create. It's fun, swirling, electronic, and definitely the one song you should listen to if you just want to get a taste of the EP. Seriously. Press play and let it speak for itself.
"Come Around" is brutal and beautiful and takes you on a journey of doubt that is finally realized. If you've ever found yourself coming out of, starting to question, or retrospectively looking back on a lousy relationship, this song is for you. The song inspires you to cut yourself free if you find the people who once lifted you up now drag you down. Plus, the music video is the most thrilling and visually interesting of the four, and feels just as climactic as the song sounds. It'll get your heart thumping and mind set. It's a song of decisiveness, and it flows just like water, both soft and strong.
My least favorite song on the EP, "Shore," only earns its low rank on my scale by the mere fact that it is not as memorable as the others. It's still beautifully recorded, sung, performed, shot, etc., but it feels a bit one note—a quiet epilogue, not an epic conclusion. It suits Andrade, sure, but it leaves me wanting more.
I wish the album ended with more of a bang, like it seemed to be building up to, rather than with the same soft whisper it started out with. In a sense, it moves full circle, and there's a nice quality to that, and overall-story-wise I get the ending, but I feel as if "Shore" was the easy, safe option. Andrade's default. It plays her strengths, which lie in zen-like, poetic quiet, but it doesn't feel like the daring finale that could have taken the EP to a new, possibly more powerful level.
In the context of the story, it feels like the protagonist has learned nothing from her past relationship, and hasn't changed at all. It's great to go back home, if that's where you belong, but as every journey story has proven: When a hero returns, they are not the same as they were before they left. I wish there was more of a sense of change. Although we don't see Andrade start out in the home she ends up in, there is an undeniable sense of familiarity when she walks in the door. I don't think eschewing her past relationship and burning it away is quite the right conclusion for her. I wanted to see more of how the journey had shaped her, and how that cold, techy city had left her with some improvement, and wasn't so terrible that she now appears better off for having forgotten it completely. And the fact that she finds the cycle repeating again (maybe for better, but maybe not different at all) with the look she shares with the man at the bar? I guess it just wasn't the ending I wanted.
But maybe I'm reading too far into this.
In all honesty and ignoring my overly detailed analysis of the final song, I feel a need to reassert that I absolutely adored the EP (as you can probably tell by my five out of five heart rating at the top) and I strongly recommend it to everyone. Even with its faults, I still think it comes as close to perfection as I could've hoped—especially given that it is the first EP from an extremely talented, YouTube-based musician. And with only four songs, there's no reason not to give it a watch and a listen!
Shore can be downloaded on iTunes and played on YouTube and Spotify.
The EP, Shore, shows the deteroration of a relationship over the course of the songs "Digital Age," "Sound," "Come Around," and "Shore." Here's my song-by-song breakdown, including the visually impressive, completely worth watching music videos:
Digital Age
The haunting intro to the EP slowly draws you into Andrade's world. It's modern, with a modern sound, and a stylish, modern video. It is a bit confusing in the context of the full album, as this feeling of near-sci-fi vibes doesn't continue throughout the story, but instead shows a world that the main character will be moving away from. Over the course of the EP, you find that she goes from this cold, techy city to her warm, rural hometown at the very end. It's a great arc, which the EP shows well, but starting with this song might throw you off a bit, as it presents you with a world that you never see again by the end of the album. A bit confusing, but still an extremely intriguing start for what will prove to be a visually, lyrically, and musically beautiful ride. And all that said, I don't think you should watch the videos out of order. Just be prepared to see things change very drastically from this song to the other three.
Sound
Hands down my favorite song on the EP, "Sound" proves Andrade can do much more than just mellow acoustic tracks. No hate for the stripped down sound, but this song really capitalizes on Andrade's vocals and shows off a new, thrilling side of the kind of music she can create. It's fun, swirling, electronic, and definitely the one song you should listen to if you just want to get a taste of the EP. Seriously. Press play and let it speak for itself.
Come Around
"Come Around" is brutal and beautiful and takes you on a journey of doubt that is finally realized. If you've ever found yourself coming out of, starting to question, or retrospectively looking back on a lousy relationship, this song is for you. The song inspires you to cut yourself free if you find the people who once lifted you up now drag you down. Plus, the music video is the most thrilling and visually interesting of the four, and feels just as climactic as the song sounds. It'll get your heart thumping and mind set. It's a song of decisiveness, and it flows just like water, both soft and strong.
Shore
My least favorite song on the EP, "Shore," only earns its low rank on my scale by the mere fact that it is not as memorable as the others. It's still beautifully recorded, sung, performed, shot, etc., but it feels a bit one note—a quiet epilogue, not an epic conclusion. It suits Andrade, sure, but it leaves me wanting more.
I wish the album ended with more of a bang, like it seemed to be building up to, rather than with the same soft whisper it started out with. In a sense, it moves full circle, and there's a nice quality to that, and overall-story-wise I get the ending, but I feel as if "Shore" was the easy, safe option. Andrade's default. It plays her strengths, which lie in zen-like, poetic quiet, but it doesn't feel like the daring finale that could have taken the EP to a new, possibly more powerful level.
In the context of the story, it feels like the protagonist has learned nothing from her past relationship, and hasn't changed at all. It's great to go back home, if that's where you belong, but as every journey story has proven: When a hero returns, they are not the same as they were before they left. I wish there was more of a sense of change. Although we don't see Andrade start out in the home she ends up in, there is an undeniable sense of familiarity when she walks in the door. I don't think eschewing her past relationship and burning it away is quite the right conclusion for her. I wanted to see more of how the journey had shaped her, and how that cold, techy city had left her with some improvement, and wasn't so terrible that she now appears better off for having forgotten it completely. And the fact that she finds the cycle repeating again (maybe for better, but maybe not different at all) with the look she shares with the man at the bar? I guess it just wasn't the ending I wanted.
But maybe I'm reading too far into this.
In all honesty and ignoring my overly detailed analysis of the final song, I feel a need to reassert that I absolutely adored the EP (as you can probably tell by my five out of five heart rating at the top) and I strongly recommend it to everyone. Even with its faults, I still think it comes as close to perfection as I could've hoped—especially given that it is the first EP from an extremely talented, YouTube-based musician. And with only four songs, there's no reason not to give it a watch and a listen!
Shore can be downloaded on iTunes and played on YouTube and Spotify.
Have you listened to this version of Shore https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aG4ozL417VQ it comes out with less than a quiet whisper and is truly emotionally gripping. I think it is evident that she was singing more in the moment here than for the music video as it is difficult for a music video song to be completely in the moment and is a lot more edited.
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