Post the success of her first single ‘Boombox’ in 2016, Laura Marano fell off the musical radar. She remained stagnant with no album releases—not even a breath of new music after her second single ‘Lala’ released that same year. Fast forward to 2018 after a collaboration with Bo Talks called ‘Weekend’. Since then, Marano has been pumping out streams of new music such as her EP Me. She also released a track for her Netflix film, The Perfect Date. But she has yet to recapture that initial spark she once had.
Her latest release ‘Honest With You’ is a soft bubbly indie-pop track with summer undertones. It has similarities to some of her previous singles ‘Lie to Me’ and ‘Not Like Me’; the former with its production and the latter with the instrumentals and rhythm. The lyrics explore familiar themes of illicit attraction and words unsaid. This is quickly becoming a staple in Marano’s music. While not bad, this does not avail the kind of nuance unrequited affairs often require. Her lyricism in these particular songs focus on impulse and physical attraction with little to no thought of consequences.
The track, specifically the lyric “people lie sometimes” corresponds to ‘Lie to Me’ from her previous EP Me. This sets up a call-answer precedent for her upcoming EP You, with the lyrics likely to use the word ‘you’ just as the songs on Me use the word ‘me’. Overall, though, ‘Honest With You’ is mediocre at best with too typical lyrics and themes.
Words by Mae Trumata
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