Georgia
Seeking Thrills
Domino
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I was thinking about the conversations I have had with friends of late regarding the new generation of pop stars and how the overall general consensus has been, “They just don’t make ‘em like they used to.”
Oh my god! Have I, I mean we, become the very thing we told ourselves we would never become: our nostalgia loving parents!? With this fear in mind and my heart racing at levels not seen since I learnt the running man, I hurriedly opened my computer and decided that I needed to play Georgia Barnes’ sophomore LP Seeking Thrills. Surely this would kill that unwarranted and “old” nostalgic feeling.
I was right.
I hadn’t heard of Georgia until recently when my editor asked me if I wanted to review her new album. Never one to say no to an opportunity to put finger to key, I decided that first I needed to dive into her previous album, her eponymous 2015 debut Georgia, and play the hell out of it. As the artist herself describes her music with adjectives like “fascinating” and “rich,” I too, found these words circling in my head after an incessant amount of listens.
Filled to the brim with debut goodness, I moved onto her latest offering, Seeking Thrills, and I am yet again finding myself using said adjectives above, along with “delicious” and “cohesive.” From the opening track of “Started Out” with its strong Chicago House influence, the house head in me couldn’t help but get hooked. Georgia herself describes the track as “euphoric” and yet again, there just isn’t a better word to sum this up.
Moving into the album’s second track, “About Work The Dancefloor” and I am instantly struck at the level of maturity and production, which exudes a “Robyn” type of vibe. It’s one of those tracks that brims with electro-pop goodness, coupled with feelings of love and that ecstasy you get on the dance floor when you close your eyes and surrender yourself to the music, dancing with unbridled control.
Whilst this album for the most part is firmly set in the synth/electro-pop stratosphere, it does have dashes of R&B as heard on tracks like “Mellow,” “Till I Own It” and “Ray Guns,” all influences indebted to Missy Elliott that yet another artist has credited and paid homage to. Add to this, an electronic music pedigree that comes from her father, Neil Barnes of the electronic duo Leftfield, and it seems that Georgia was destined to follow in his footsteps.
Not content with just singing, Georgia also wrote and produced Seeking Thrills. On further inspection of her brief but incredibly profound career thus far, it becomes apparent that there really isn’t an archetype for a young female drummer turned singer-songwriter. The only other person who comes to mind, who also happens to be one of Georgia’s idols, is the legendary Sheila E. When your “path” has barely been trodden on, let alone broken in, you are afforded a certain freedom that doesn’t come with other certified genres, case in point: Georgia.
Although Seeking Thrills is Georgia’s sophomore album, there is a freshness and originality that can only be manifested from pure passion. Songs like “24 Hours,” “I Can’t Wait,” “Ultimate Sailor,” and “The Thrill” reinforce this creative freedom that essentially culminates in pure pop music that is unabashedly authentic. Georgia’s uniqueness in a sea of oversaturated, highly manufactured artists is not only refreshing, but so desperately needed.
Nostalgia nearly got the better of me before discovering Georgia’s music. Now, knowing that she is one of the new generation of pop innovators, fear and frustration are two words I no longer associate with the pop stratosphere. In fact, excited, bright and incredibly curious are what I see over the horizon.
Seeking Thrills? Look no further.
Notable Tracks: "About Work The Dancefloor" | “Started Out” | "The Thrill"
BUY Seeking Thrills via Domino
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