Melanie Pierce – Stir Crazy (2023)
If you had turned on the radio to Melanie Pierce a couple of years ago, the melodies would have been toe-tapping, hyped and filled with shimmering flits of light. Earlier this year, she re-emerged with a darker, heavier, wistful haunting in the single ‘fool’. Taking inspiration from life melded with snippets of her previous decade of musical experience, depth and profoundness balance with lighter optimism in just one melody. Pierce hit our speakers with ‘fool’, and she returns to our ears with her new single ‘Stir Crazy’.
Along with her single ‘fool’, ‘Stir Crazy’ is the third song and title track of her upcoming four-track EP. Looking at both singles, Pierce appears to tackle the intricacies of life, love, lust and loss in the highly anticipated EP, or at least that’s what I’m assuming. ‘fool’ was penned about “being encapsulated by a deep core knowledge and an extraordinary love/compatibility with all of the lustful feelings”; ‘Stir Crazy’ is “about dark feelings during a time when manipulation and lack of discernment are very prevalent”. Both are filled with vulnerability, fragility and intensity from the darker side of our souls.
One aspect I enjoy about Pierce is her way of capturing the core of the theme in the melody. Leaning toward the 90s alternative rock sound, ‘Stir Crazy’ is a combination of rhythmic drums alongside a resonant bassline with slips of bold guitars woven into the melody. Harmonic in its eerie execution, the arrangement tingles your skin and sends shivers down your spine. Interestingly, while there is a hint of potential crescendos to scorching guitar solos, the hushed harmony veils any blasting instruments. Even more interesting is how the subdued tone is more powerful, soul-stirring and moving than any ferocious crash of drums or guitars.
Tipping her hat at The Cranberries, ‘Stir Crazy’ has a nostalgic whiff of obscure vocals amidst an eerie swirl of melancholic music. Similar to Dolores O’Riordan, Pierce’s voice is smooth and gentle, but vulnerability lingers beneath the mellifluous flow. Just like the melody, Pierce captures painful turmoil and darkness without being unrestrained.
Find out more about Melanie Pierce on her official website, Facebook, Twitter and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
