Isabella Strange is a four piece band from Edinburgh who have recently made quite a splash in the Scottish music scene. Their debut ep ‘Slick Git’ was released on February and they were also shortlisted for the ‘BBC Scottish Act of the Year Award’ which shows how quickly they’ve captured the public’s attention. The EP is a lot of things, its cool, punk, eccentric and introspectric but above all it’s just really fun to listen to. ‘Sally’s day’ is probably the most cartoonish track of all, with a memorable melody line and punchy lyrics, a perfect introduction to a confident, loud and cheeky ep. The lyrics in slick git are beautiful, you can read them here.
In the dying light he hacks his conscious up
Spreads it across the sky, rewinds and rewinds
You’ve been searching for meaning, I’ve been sleeping
Under crescent moon, the stillness it soothes
All the foreign pains that youth constitutes
You’ve been searching for meaning, I’ve been sleeping
A thousand telephones ring and you’re alone
As they’ve said so themselves, a lot of their themes revolve around modern intimacy and anxiety, their songs can be whimical and emotional simultaneously and I have always felt drawn to music that can have a lot of emotional depth without taking itself too seriously, there’s a lot of freedom in taking on an eccentric persona and I definitely look forward to seeing how that energy translates on stage. After all, production wise, this is a characteristically punk record, with guitar riffs and intense vocals so I can only imagine how the songs must feel like in a live setting. ‘Karma 5’ is their most streamed song on Spotify and definitely a high point on the record, I honestly really love reading the lyrics to these songs and I definitely encourage you to check them out.
Hypochondriac,
when I’m alone
There’s blood coursing through my veins and I don’t think that’s good
Where did it go,
my train of thought
I want to say it right without making everything worse
My life,
it talks back at me
I’ve been hoping for someone to come and set me free
‘3:05’ is a really sweet moment in the EP, it feels like a calming and soothing intermission to an otherwise uplifting collection of songs. ‘Unfinished business’ is incredible, the melody is really cool and some of the lyrics toward the end are sung in french which makes the whole thing even cooler. Overall, this is a refreshing collection of songs that are more fun than whatever you’re listening to right now, so don’t miss out because isabella strange are already on their way to becoming iconic.
