Finding your sound can be tricky. Translating what's bouncy about upstairs in your brain to a piece of music? Very difficult. However, despite the trials and tribulations, Los Angeles based artist ARO looks to shift through genres as she moves from electropop to pop rock. Her third single release 'Crazy' is the latest shift in creation for the singer-songwriter and presents an interesting listen.
The track came out back on the 19th of January, and already looks to trail the successes of previous works 'I Fall In Love Too Many Times' (over 21,000 plays) and 'Let Me Go' (over 13,000 plays). The listener is greeted with a near-Latin chord pattern and the pace is instantly set. While there's great energy and meaning, at times I felt the song could be mixed a little better before the chorus. That's where the layers work for me, with the driving bass and rhythmic guitar playing well - parallel to the vocal. In the preamble it feels a little disjointed in parts, but that's just my thought. This evens out nicely, as said, in the chorus and then after this, as well as ARO's voice having a natural strength - the guitar solo to end is a great addition.
Considering this is just the third release from ARO, it's yet another solid building block to a foundation that sees her move from different musical origins to where she wants to be stylistically. On the track, the artist reflected about the creative processes and just what music means to her.
"This genre pivot for me is really going hand-in-hand with my own personal growth. I’m really starting to find my confidence as an artist and with that I’m reaching for bigger sounds, more powerful vocals. I think when I was starting out I was still in my shell and maintained a certain ‘coolness’. As I lean more into myself, I’m feeling my music more, there’s more for me to emote now.” “I wrote this song in an afternoon and immediately was so excited about it. I could already hear the big guitar moments in my head and feel the piece coming to life. I wanted a really cool guitar solo on this one. I asked Kenny to melt my face off and honestly I think he more than delivered.”
Ultimately, while there's of course room to grow, with ARO I find it refreshing to hear her take on how music has helped to transmit raw ideas and passion from the outside world. She has a mentality that feels quite ahead of her years, and can only allude to good creations in the future.
“I’m someone who grew up in a small environment. And by that I mean my family, the people I was surrounded by in my town, were all very similar, it was a really homogenous place. I think in those kinds of environments it’s hard to really find yourself. If you only see a few paths forward in life and none of them look particularly appealing it’s easy to feel like there’s something wrong with you. It’s hard putting yourself out there and doing things differently, but I’ve always found that it’s hard mostly because of the people who used to know a different version of you. I think it’s hard for people to reconcile who they once knew you to be with who you are presently. And the uncomfortable part about growth is dealing with that judgment that inevitably comes up. This song was a fun way for me to process some of that.”
This single, that playfully pokes at the gendered stereotypes of a woman approaching adulthood, marks the first track of her upcoming EP ‘Messy’, which will offer listeners a front row seat to the self-admittedly messy inner world of this promising artist. Her first body of work is set to release in early 2024.
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