If you’ve been frequenting JOVM over the past year or so, you might recall that I had written about up-and-coming Canton, MI-born, Nashville, TN-based classically trained pianist and singer/songwriter Lauren Straham and her solo recording project, Fleurie. With Fleurie, Straham has quickly developed a reputation for meshing a traditional (and confessional) singer/songwriter approach with incredibly contemporary electronic production to craft moody and atmospheric electro pop that compares favorably to the likes of Phoebe Ryan, CAPPA, Chelsea Lankes, Marie Dahlstrøm and a growing list of women pop artists, who have dominated the blogosphere over the past couple of years.
Produced by Matt Stanfield and mixed by Dave Schiffman, best known for his work mixing Haim, Charli XCX and Brandon Flowers, Straham’s second Fleurie EP Arrows captured the attention of the blogosphere; in fact, you might remember that I wrote about EP singles “Fire In My Bones,” an ethereal yet tense song focusing on the internal battle between fear and hope, and “Sparks,” an urgent and swooning song that evoked the sensation of falling desperately in love.
Building on the buzz of Arrows EP, Fleurie released “Hurts Like Hell, ” last year, which was recently featured in MTV‘s Scream. 2016 sees the release of Strahm’s latest single “Sirens,” a single written “with the desire to capture the emotion of heartache and loss,” the Nashville-based electro pop artist explained in press notes. “The way the world seems to swirl around you in slow motion when you receive devastating news, often with sirens echoing in the background. It’s a sad song but a much-needed lament for those left reeling in the wake of all our world has been suffering as of late.”
As a result, “Sirens” pairs swirling electronics, mournful piano chords, boom bap-like beats and anthemic hooks with Strahm’s ethereal and plaintive vocals in a melancholy and atmospheric song that not only channels Dido but also manages to evoke the confusing and irrevocable sense of emptiness that can only come about from the loss of a close loved one.
