Sad music has long been popular, because we all feel sad at times and want to connect, but it’s been particularly popular lately (to be fair, these are sad times…). ‘Sad girl pop’ has become a phenomenon, even as its definitions expand beyond ‘girl’ and ‘pop’. Becca Mancari brings a smoother sound to their sadness on third album Left Hand.
‘Smooth’ can often mean ‘superficial’, just a nice surface beneath which there is little, but there is much behind the sad disco of Left Hand’s “Don’t Close Your Eyes” or the relaxed, charming shine of the preceding “Over and Over” (which features sad girl pop royalty Julien Baker). Not all of Mancari’s songs stand out as well, as the glow can gloss, but the glow does glow on songs such as “Mexican Queen”. And they do bigger so well on the penultimate “You Don’t Love Me” that one could wish they’d gone big more often.
We all get sad, and we all need sad music – but not the same sad music. So, pick your style, but also expand your styles, such as the sad, smooth glow of Becca Mancari on Left Hand.
