Anastasia Elliot – Masquerade (2022)
Many of us wear masks that hide our true selves from the people around us. While this is sometimes done for good reasons, there are others times when it is all to create a fake persona or simply to avoid who we truly are. With her single ‘Masquerade’, Anastasia Elliot is calling for our masks to be tossed aside and for us to all unleash our authentic selves into the world.
An anthemic call for authenticity from people in a world of fake online personas, the single will have you owning your true self and unapologetically stepping into who you really are. Part of her full-length visual album La Petite Mort, this track continues to showcase her trailblazing and powerful style. Casting vast strokes with her sonic brush, she flows through your senses with an undeniable presence.
‘Masquerade’ uses a blast of jitter electronic tones to grab your attention before the richer tones of the piano enters. This is just the start of a really intense and immersive melody that swings through dynamic flows of power pop and anthemic rock. Each note has been selected to enhance the blasting messaging of the track and get you rocking out to the sound. It is almost impossible to stay still as you listen to this melody. The beats vibrate through your bones, bringing an energy that travels through your body and bursts out of your chest on the chorus. This unleashed energy has you jumping around like crazy and without a care for what anyone has to say. This freedom echoes the message in the lyrics about being true to who you are. Later in the track, there is this run of the piano that slides over a paced rock undertone that is a pleasure to listen to.
While the melody is shaking off your mask through the sheer energy of the sound, Elliot’s vocals curl around you like a hand caressing the back of your neck. Her voice is smooth as it slips under your defences, before shoving you into the layered call leading you to the chorus. When the chorus hits, her performance gets an almost dance echo to it that enhances the need to jump around that hits through the melody. Through all of this, the lyrics bring the call for authenticity from those around us to life, ending with a demand on the chorus. There is something freeing about the movement of her performance that has you shedding any masks you might be wearing and feeling comfortable in your own skin.
With a blast of anthemic energy, Anastasia Elliot has you shedding the masks you wear and owning who you really are while soaking up the freedom woven into ‘Masquerade’. The single is a powerful call for authenticity that pulses, punches and flows through your soul. As you get lost in the music, you feel a sense of freedom fill your mind letting you know that you can easily be your authentic self.
Find out more about Anastasia Elliot on her website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and Spotify.
