Sophie (Chanko) Dare

LISTEN HERE:

https://open.spotify.com/album/0qXVEBzNL34X3NgqmI8hH4?si=a9uCFqUiTnabUu6Zr9bR2A

Olivia O'Brien is a relatively small-time, alternative pop, one-woman show straight from Los Angeles, and even though there's about a million other aspiring singers that match that description exactly, there's something special about her style that I love. She's honest (sometimes a little TOO specifically) and isn't afraid to write about life as a twenty-something being less than stellar.

She's most well-known for her feature in the pop radio hit i hate u, i love u, which hit number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2016. She has released various singles and EP's in the past few years, including a full-length LP, Was It Even Real?, this past April.

This EP is another installment in a series of what Olivia has described as “micromixtapes”– “projects made up of two or three songs that fit together sonically and lyrically.”

Was It All In My Head? opens the short-but-sweet, three-song EP with a guitar driven tune that's more pop-rock than Olivia's usual style. She wonders why she didn't see through a guy's empty promises of “I'm not like the other boys”. She thinks she must have completely made up his good personality, because reality has proved that he's not a keeper.

Josslyn is QUITE the breakup song, with Olivia calling out the girl with whom her man cheated on her BY NAME. Doesn't get much more savage than that. She lays out the truth of the situation matter-of-factly: she was involved with a guy, but he decided to cheat on her... with Josslyn. She shrugs it off:

But now we're off and we'll never be on again
I hope that it was worth it, f—-ing Josslyn

Don't wanna fight, I just never wanna talk again
I hope that it was worth it, f—-ing Josslyn.

Profane? Yes. Still a fun song to sing along to and be sassy? Also yes.

Sad Together wraps things up in typical Olivia O'Brien fashion, with a slightly depressing, but honest tune, knowing that life is going to let you down. Sometimes, you're just going to be sad, but having someone to commiserate with is still better than being sad AND lonely. It's very much in the same vein as her past popular singles, Empty and No Love.

Olivia has no qualms about sharing songs about the results of her poor judgement- getting involved with guys who won't treat her right, getting cheated on, and getting down in the dumps after drinking too much. But you can tell by listening that these songs are her own, written straight from her experiences, and aren't watered down or run through countless record label execs before the music reaches the listener's ear. She's got her own, modern, LA, emotional girl style that continues to get stuck in my head.