Calvert releases debut EP This Beautiful Life, Vol. 1 amidst beautiful pop tones, big choruses and a penchant for the positive.
We all need a bit of positivity these days. Within just a few pages of turning a newspaper or browsing the net, it can feel as though the world is falling apart, and sometimes you want to just sit back, take a break from it all and listen to something to cheer you up. Step forward, Calvert. New EP This Beautiful Life, Vol. 1 and its positive dance-pop sound manages to provide a needed remedy in this callous world, with Calvert’s infectiously optimistic attitude amplified through heavy beats and big sounds.
Please With A Cherry starts off the EP with gristly pulsing beats and a playful sound – think Billie Eilish with a late Britney Spears attitude. The track marches forward amongst 80s synths and lyrics of perspective: “I put my heart on the line for the last time coz never do you reciprocate”. The lyrics can also show the singer’s ambivalent side: one minute aloof, the next full of zest and guile. This internal conflict is cleverly used to bring the track to life by using the uplifting and catchy sounds to gradually win over the pessimism.
Heartbeat takes a more pop-dance ballad feel about it with Calvert putting his emotions on the line and confessing his feelings for all to see: “When you’re near I feel alive… every time you go you take my heartbeat”. It features some nice electro-tinted vocals that are layered to perfection and one of the strongest choruses on the EP.
Move On begins with Daft Punk-esqe beats in a low-fi atmosphere that gradually builds into a slow-paced banger and features some of the best production on the record, whereas Wanna Be – a cover of the Betty Who track of the same name – manages to be both sincere and positive at the same time. The strings really add an essence of beauty to the track that’s missing at other times during the EP, as it raises itself up and ready for the all-encompassing chorus.
The EP finishes with This Beautiful Life and some of the strongest vocal work on the record. This is pitted against big drums and once again, that revitalising chorus that can’t help but cheer you up. The way the track shifts between the epic and the stripped back is the blueprint for how the EP works and used to great effect here.
Calvert has produced a strong debut EP with This Beautiful Life, Vol. 1. It’s full of hope, positivity and big melodies that lead the listener by the hand into powerful choruses that don’t hold back. The dance-pop fusion vibe can mix it with some of the best out there, making the EP a great start for an artist on the rise.
Score: 4/5
By Jamie Parmenter
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