With a title that apparently translates to “Facets,” the new, debut, three-track EP from Russian songstress Minakova is full of heartache, doubt, confrontation, and emotion.
A rather enigmatic prospect, not much is known about Minakova. Well, actually, when we say not much, we mean nothing at all. Her debut EP came out of absolutely nowhere last month, and it is three tracks of perfect electronic/folk-pop fusion.
The first, entitled Вернуться назад (or “Go Back”), is as straight up as it gets. With a delicate acoustic guitar, complemented by honeyed vocals, a startling melody, and just the slightest hint of piano, it casts a spell that is impossible to ignore. The bass guitar is also particularly satisfying here, offering a steady but subtle rhythmic backbone to the whole thing in conjunction with the ever-dependable drums. Lyrically, Go Back is quite ambiguous. With references to going back to where she was strong and forgetting who is at fault, it could easily be about a lovers’ tiff. Or, perhaps, it could be about something altogether stronger and more significant.
Translated with the help of a friend, we can tell you that the second song – Исчезаю – translates to “Disappearing”. The middle track on the EP, its lyrics centre around the hopeless sensation of falling in love. The whirlwind of emotion, the overloaded senses, the questions, the answers, and everything in between. Musically, it is mostly rooted in an almost-trip-hop sphere – with the boomy, bassy arrangement recalling the work of Portishead, but there is also a detectable pop sheen at play that feels more like starlets Jessie Ware or Róisín Murphy, and some additional folky undertones that bring to mind, perhaps, the work of Swedish singer-songwriter Lykke Li. This all makes for a most beguiling blend, and we very much look forward to hearing more of it.
Fortunately, there’s one more tune. Stupid (Глупая) leans even more into the beat-based song structure that was alluded to on the previous song. Slick, silky, and smooth, the production here is absolutely on point. The vocal delivery is full of sassy attitude, which feels somewhat at odds with the sentiment of the majority of the self-deprecating lyrics (“silly, stupid, I’m so stupid, stupid, stupid, I’m stupid, stupid, I’m stupid”), but somehow, it works well, and we dig it. If you’re a fan of Bjork, Lianne La Havas, and Aaliyah, you may well just dig it too.
Written by Kinda Grizzly
