You know that side-eye look of guilt that dogs often give you. They’ve done something wrong, but they don’t want to acknowledge that intense gaze. Well, that’s the only thing I can draw comparison to when I found Izzy Pingrey’s song, sent to me at the end of June, deep in the depths of an unread email pile. Staring at me through the pixels, an unwritten article. Eesh.
It’s worth noting that New York’s Izzy Pingrey doesn’t employ the same cack-handedness of this bewildered reviewer. Oh no, at just 17 years old, Pingrey presents a clear thought process and maturity in her craft – a craft she’s been involved in since she was just 13.
Such topics she plies her intriguing creativity to, can on the face of things, be seen as just teenage drama. However, with Pingrey, there’s this sense of evolving a basic real life experience into something meaningful and relatable for many.
‘Narcissus’ dropped on the 23rd of June and approaches the premise of unreciprocated love in a friendship. In Izzy’s remonstrating to anyone that’d listen, the singer forgot to pronounce the ‘T’ in ‘narcissist’ and with that, a song name was born:
“I wrote 'narcissus' after dealing with some friendship troubles. I felt so overlooked, like I was just pouring my heart and soul into multiple relationships that didn’t reciprocate the love and care that I was giving.”
“I’ve been interested in Greek mythology since I was a kid, and while I was ranting about some teenage drama, I accidentally forgot to pronounce the T in 'narcissist,' and the rest just flowed out of me after that. I wrote 'narcissus' for myself and for anyone else who needs to think less about people who don’t think so much about them".
So, we’ve got the meaning. But what of the song itself?
Well, for this young artist who records tracks with her dad, it’s an admitted hybrid of an eclectic taste of music. Pingrey once claimed to have listened to Taylor Swift, then Limp Bizkit back-to-back and in this soft yet stern track – there’s a pointed lyricism in addressing the failed friendship. Countering this, there is that Swift-esque semi-folk like soundscape. Acoustic guitar, crisp and flowing harmonies, and twinkling chimes lay a soft foundation. Yet, with a subtle thudding back beat – as well as cutting remarks about betrayal and isolation - that genre dexterity is perhaps alluded to.
To conclude, this article needs to come as an apology as well as a brief review. It’s been so long since I got the email that Pingrey has released yet another tune in July – ‘flatline.’ Check it out on the NYC resident’s Spotify and all at OSM would encourage you to keep tabs on this promising up-and-comer who looks to ever-evolve her sound.