ARTIST – SAVANNAH POPE

SINGLE – PANOPTICON

REVIEWER – GRAEME WRIGHT

At first glance this was well out of my comfort zone. A couple of our reviewers had passed on it, but with my love for the bizarre and the baroque being well known, I stepped up to the plate. There are two ways to listen to this song – with the video, and without the video. The reason for this will become apparent to our patient readers.

Savannah Pope is an LA based artist and is a totally unique one-off as far as I’m concerned. Cinematic, haunting, glamorous and interesting, this song is a bit different from any of her previous releases in that it’s a bit less Rock orientated and leans more into Kate Bush when she was going through her experimental phase. Previous songs such as ‘Melancholic Goddess’ and ‘He Sees Me’ really hit the spot for me – Rock music with an amazing vocal that occasionally hits operatic heights, combined with some bewildering time changes really grabbed my attention.

‘Panopticon’ is different. Art house lyrics, less guitar orientated and a real sense of the grandiose, it took me a few listens to fully appreciate the song, but I really like it now. The lyrics appear to be deeply personal, discussing trauma, lack of self confidence and the reliance on individuals even if you no longer have any form of relationship with them.

The video is something else. Insanely over the top, I didn’t quite get it at first and found it a touch pretentious. After a few views I couldn’t take my eyes off it. It was as if David Lynch, Derek Jarman and Alejandro Jodorowsky had sat in a tent for a week imbibing Mescaline and LSD, and then decided to remake Dangerous Liaisons. It’s utterly bonkers in a good way but I’m also aware it distracts you from the actual song it is supposed to be supporting.

Ultimately, give this one a listen and check out Savannahs back catalogue. I will be watching future developments with interest…..

1. Panopticon