More about: GIRLI
A mixed bag
Girli is reckoning with the messiness of life on Why am I like this?? Refusing the tie herself down, the alt-pop singer sets out to capture the multitudes of herself.
The EP is easily at its best when Girli tackles her own insecurities head on. Brutally forthcoming, witty, and sharp, her pen feels especially sharp on opening track ‘I really f**ked it up.’ The song is a catchy affirmation of the need to embrace the messiness of life.
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As she reckons with her own insecurities, it always feels relatable, as if she’s a close friend venting. This kind of artist/listener relationship is rare, and is also fleeting across the EP, but when Girli grasps it, its compelling.
If ‘I really f**ked it up’ drives you headfirst into the EP, then ‘Inner Child’ feels a bit like a bump in the road. Much slower in pace, Girli’s witticisms about boys who drain relationships by not fixing their inner child feel at once relatable and cliché. It never quite packs the kind of punch it could, and ends up feeling flat in comparison to the rest of the EP.
‘Cheap Love’ on the other hand, swiftly picks the pace back up. Perhaps the least vulnerable track on the EP, it is however a perfectly fun, catchy alt-pop track, benefitting from bright production. The upbeat hooks find the song whimsically pulling along – it’s the kind of song you’d want to blast in the sunshine.
"It soars in the moments that she lays all to bear and talks to you personally."
This acceptance of the process of working through things is at the core of the EP. ‘Imposter Syndrome’ is a punchy exclamation of overthinking and, the feeling of being lost in yourself. Lyrically forthright and honest, it feels like a return to the intimate vulnerability of opening track ‘I really f**ked it up.’
Why am I like this?? feels all over the place. On one hand, that seems like the point and encapsulates the messiness of life Girli is reckoning with. On the other hand, the best tracks on the EP see her confronting this feeling head on anyway. It soars in the moments that she lays all to bear and talks to you personally.
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More about: GIRLI
