Au/Ra is one of the more interesting contemporary artists. She’s got a distinct voice and the production style of her songs sounds fresh without trying to be excessively revolutionary. The focus is in the songs, like it should be.
The chorus of Ideas skilfully leaves the listener hanging a couple of times, when the melody doesn’t jump up where you expect it to go. And when it goes, it’s really satisfying to hear those sweet high notes.
By the way! If you're into pop music, you might want to check out our Fresh Electronic Pop playlist on Spotify
Ideas is unique, catchy and generally more approachable than many songs on the Spotify charts. The vocal delivery is professional, but feels more authentic than most overproduced pop hits. There aren’t many sonic elements in the song, but it does well with the ones that were chosen. The distorted bass line carries the song with a strong rhythm and it is varied throughout the song to maintain interest. The bass line is definitely one of the strongest elements of the song.
The wannabe explicit lyrics are censored stylishly, leaving the word “fuck” to be sung in the imagination of the listener. You can, of course, replace it with a softer word, like “play”, “mess” or “fiddle”. In the lyric video, though, they do reveal that the word starts with an F and ends in a K, giving you less room for imagination (funk?).
Au/Ra is on a musical path that is not too overcrowded as of now, but I can imagine Ideas becoming a greater success and attracting a bunch of imitators along the way. I’m excited to hear more songs from Au/Ra. Good job, Andrew Frampton, Jamie Lou Stenzel, Max Farrar and Gabriel Benjamin!