Manchester based Abbie Ozard is about to release her second EP entitled ‘Let’s Play Pretend’. Singles leading up to the release include ‘Pink Sky (endless summer)’ and ‘TV Kween’ and see her adding a 90s Hollywood gloss to her usual indie pop brand, described as “Best Coast or Day Wave clashing with The Cure”. This EP is being released alongside lead single ‘Breakdowns’, a song thats been co-written with Easy Life collaborator Ben Matarvers. The four song EP as a whole is about living in a small town in your early 20s and the desire for escape.
Opening track ‘Pink Sky (Endless Summer)’ gets the EP off to a really strong and impressive start. This song is bright and uplifting, featuring some cool vocal effects. The best way to describe this track is a perfect summer bop; I can imagine it being played at festivals and in beer gardens come the summer (let’s hope). The song is about romanticising a relationship that simply isn’t going to work and slowly realising you’re better off as best friends instead.
‘TV Kween’ starts with what sounds like a radio being tuned followed by the line “I tune into my favourite station”. This more chilled affair is the perfect shift and deals with wanting to be someone else and the desire to be the main character in one’s own life with lines like “romanticise reality, it’s all I need” and “everybody wants to be famous”. Abbie’s vocals flow so smoothly through this song which is great to hear.
‘True Romance’ is about driving in a car with her boyfriend and pretending to be in a film, “driving to the sunset no coming back”. I get slight 90s pop-punk vibes from this song because of the heavy guitar and bass riffs. I really liked the direction this song takes and how it employs a lot of cool effects on the vocal lines and guitars.
Finally, we have the lead single ‘Breakdowns’, which delves into the disconnect between living a predominately online life and trying to stay afloat in a small town, “everybody’s having breakdowns ‘cause it’s the thing to do” deals with the reality of living in a backwater where nothing really happens. This song is much more relaxed compared to the others and focusses more on Abbie’s vocals and the guitar.
‘Let’s Play Pretend’ is extremely well produced, the musicianship is impeccable, the songs are well written and portray a clear narrative of living in a small town, wanting to escape and be someone different. In my opinion this is a perfect EP, there are no weak links and a real sense of cohesion between the tracks without them blurring together. This EP is something to be proud of.
Let’s Play Pretend is out 12/02/2021.