LA-based French-Thai singer, songwriter, and producer spill tab (Claire Chicha), has announced her debut album, ANGIE (out on 16th May), along with its title track.
The name Angie has appeared in iconic songs by the Rolling Stones and Bert Jansch which explore themes of love and heartbreak. However, spill tab’s ‘Angie’ reinvents the name with a bold approach. Instead of a sombre ballad or folk-inspired reflection, ‘Angie’ breaks new ground, experimenting by disrupting delicate ambient moments with sudden bursts of intensity, reflecting a new and complex sound.
The track opens with isolated instruments, layering synth, acoustic guitar, bass, vocals, and percussion one by one. The delicate build-up is quickly interrupted by louder drums and a heavy guitar. spill tab creates a gentle ambience reminiscent of bands like Slow Pulp, only to disrupt it with sudden bursts of energy.
‘Angie’ goes from gentle tones to crashing sounds, creating a sense of conflict for the listener. The lyrics recreate this conflict: the song tells of the tension between desire and hate, longing and detachment. The repetition of lines: “Angie, you’re on my mind” and “I hate you, I don’t, I don’t, I don’t” exact the struggle of a person caught by their feelings for someone, while wrestling with anger and resentment.
Also, the track’s hazy, dreamlike echoing of Angie’s name throughout, to the narrator’s compulsive, fixated state. The narrator is solely focused on Angie, and combined with the track’s unpredictable combination of both soft and harsh sounds, makes ‘Angie’ feels like an emotional whirlwind that is impossibly caught between intimacy and chaos.
Reflecting on her project, spill tab describes ANGIE as a blend of “love, loss, rejection, and passion […] all coexisting together in one place.” This emotional depth and personal involvement is evident in ‘Angie’, where the track’s delicate and intense moments mirror the internal conflict of longing and detachment. The title track’s fluctuating energy, paired with its introspective lyrics, paves the way for an album that explores the nuances and unpredictability of human nature and emotions.
Words by Joe Claxton
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