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Live Review: Soak up Simona Castricum's 'The Half Light' in all of its anthemic pop glory

12 April 2019 | 10:04 am | Caitlin Medcalf

Melbourne's SIMONA CASTRICUM has been hard at work honing in on her forthcoming record which we'll get to hear in full this July, 2019. The record sees her enlisting the production skills of James Cecil (Architecture in Helsinki) and Evelyn Ida Morris (Pikelet).

In the meantime while we sit patiently waiting for the record, she's given us not one, but two dreamy pop songs dripping in her signature, cleverly evoked feeling of nostalgia.

'The Half Light' is an instant pop anthem. You know that feeling you get when you finish watching The Breakfast Club and you're sitting quietly letting the sounds of Simple Minds' 'Don't You Forget About Me' wash over you? That element of that finale song is fiercely present in 'The Half Light'. There's an instant relatability about the track, and through its themes of human disconnection told through her beautifully composed synth-pop, you're left feeling both whole and connected.

Of the track, Castricum said "’The Half Light’ is that moment scrolling endlessly through your social media at the end of the day in bed; watching all you friends and followers lives—people you know, the people you knew, and people you don't—wishing you were with them, wondering how you could be closer; only to realise your trapped in this cruel paradox of being 'connected' to so many people yet feeling so alone and detached. As if communication and relationships have become so dehumanised by technology through our need for visibility is consumed. Where is that place I can feel connected?”

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On the B-side of the single, she's shared a dreamy cover of The Motels' classic 'Suddenly Last Summer'. Drenched in reverb, her voice echoes softly over the lush soundscape with guitars quietly strumming and glittering chimes pitter-pattering all over. The alarm-like melodic phrase bouncing around in the original has been emulated perfectly to suit the tone of Castricum's version, making for a dreamy interpretation that both pays homage to the original and works neatly in with her sound.

These two singles feel like a new era for Simona Castricum. With a new record on the way and two tastes of the sounds she'll be exploring, it's going to be one hell of a release.

Photo by Alexandre Dubois @ FAINT

Words by CAITLIN MEDCALF

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