The Singer/Songwriter/Anarchist/Rascal (as she puts it so perfectly) Burridge is back with her first EP in three years. I’ve been a fan for a while now after being sent over some of her latest singles, and I’m super excited to hear the rest of the release. She straddles the lines between pop, rock, indie and punk with ease and puts out something genuinely unique. Let’s get into it!

‘Modern Day Love Affair’ starts off heavier than I was expecting, and certainly heavier than the two tracks I reacted to. The Great riff heads into more punk territory once the vocals kick in, with her singing in between the guitars for the first part. It almost has a J-rock edge to it all, or at very least reminds me of Joanovarc’s ‘Say Sayonara’. I think it’s the multi-tracked vocals that’s doing it, but it makes it sound huge and very impactful. The chorus is just as big and catchy as the rest of it, and I’m sure it’ll be a fan favourite live. Overall it’s a great straight-up rock song, and a fantastic way to open an EP!

Soon-to-be single ‘Breathe’ is up next. It opens straight into her awesome, slightly distorted vocals, backed only by the solid bass drum. The fuzzy bass comes in behind to add even more attitude to it all before it builds into a huge pre. It’s spacious and catchy in its own right.

Then, the track leans heavily into AM territory with the riff and chorus. The guitar tone is very Arctic Monkeys while her vocals even remind me a bit of Alex Turner’s at times throughout, from the accent to melody to pronunciation. The chorus is great though, another catchy, arena-filling vocal hook with huge guitars behind it. The half-time in the second chorus is also fantastic. Everything culminating together in the final chorus was great too, and finished off an amazing song. Playlisted, easily.

You can check out my reaction and thoughts on ‘Cigarette Smoke’ (as well as ‘Panic’ a little later) down below. But I’ll still give a few brief words now for those who don’t have the time to watch.

The fuzzy bass and simple drums fit well behind Burridge ‘s voice, making it all feel pretty punk. It all builds into a great pre and HUGE chorus that has been stuck in my head on and off since I first heard it a few months ago. It’s a fantastic track that I cannot heap enough praise onto. It fits perfectly into the current pop-rock resurgence, while still sounding different and having a punky edge. It’s already on the playlist!

The final new track, ‘Done Wrong’, channels massive pop-punk energy. From the riff to the melody to the gang vocals, it’s all very Paramore and other modern bands on the edge of punk. It’s good fun and very catchy, just like the rest of the tracks. It’s another great song!

Closing track ‘Panic’ is another one I have loved for months now. It opens straight into Burridge ‘s powerful vocals and a great punk rock riff. Also, it’s another hugely catchy chorus and one that will be on a loop around my head for the rest of the day. I especially love the stripped-back version of it that closes out the track. It’s one of my favourite outros of the year, I think! Great stuff, and another for the playlist!

Overall: This was fantastic. It’s great to hear the youth infusing rock into the more pop sound, and it’s becoming a rather big, mainstream thing again these days. Every track is great and is definitely worth checking out, and I’ll be listening to it a lot in the coming weeks and months. Hopefully we get the chance to hear it live soon!

The Score: 8/10