Hana Piranha – Toxic (2024)
Take Hana Piranha and then take Britney Spears – alternative rock meets pure pop. One might consider it a collision in sound (the winner based on your preference) but take a deeper look and the raw emotion belying the moving melodies binds each in harmonic complementariness. On the exterior UK-based Hana Piranha smashes against Spear’s pop princess demeanour… then again, that’s the exterior. What lies beneath the surface?
Personally, I will always remember Britney Spears as the pop princess of the 1990s/2000s – pretty and innocent, but with a bad girl edginess. Lacing teen-pop songs with underlying sensuality, who could forget the real meaning behind “Hit Me Baby (One More Time)” or “Oops, I Did It Again”? With ‘Toxic’ it was a bare-all insight into intoxication and tumultuous obsession. Hana Piranha use their brash, bold, gritty rock-inspired sound bringing all that stuff to the surface in an unashamedly Hana Piranha sound.
If you know the original, a similarity to Britney Spears’ ‘Toxic’ is evident in the verses with the vocals merely a rock-tinged copy of Spears. Yet, just as similarity can be heard, Hana Piranha’s version rips the band-aid off the open wound with hard rock gusto. Crashing drums, scorching guitars and a bold bass flood the sonic hurricane whipping you from one side to another. Gut-wrenching chaos ensues as Piranha’s silvery violin slices through with a cheeky grin.
As the tune progresses, sonic insanity continues becoming more energetic and enthusiastic with head-whipping ferocity; then the track just ends – shocking and abrupt. The immediate end made me grin, it’s a complete cutoff from the chaos and a definitive point saying “Well, that’s what it is but don’t think I’m taking all that sh*t…” Profound and intense, Hana Piranha hasn’t chosen any old pop song to make their own, they chose one to celebrate the tragedy, trauma and overall empowerment felt when overcoming the world’s toxicity. Hana Piranha explains:
“We chose ‘Toxic’ because we felt it’s a song that we could make our own. Britney’s story is a tragic and inspiring tale of mental health, abuse, and the resurrecting power of music. Her autobiography reads like a defence against all the persecution she has experienced, highlighting the irony that her success as a global icon almost destroyed her. It made me reflect on the darker side of being a strong, successful woman and the barriers and stigma our society still places on this…”
Find out more about Hana Piranha on their official website, Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
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