At 15, Piper Connolly already seems to understand one of pop music’s oldest tricks, which is that sometimes the messiest feelings make the catchiest songs. On she’s too much!, the Los Angeles-based alt-pop/pop-rock artist turns the chaos of growing up into six tracks packed with sharp hooks, guitars, humor, insecurity, young love and enough attitude to make the title feel more like a badge of honor.
“beautiful life” opens the EP in a rush of rumbling beats, moody bass and immersive textures, with Connolly’s lush, emotionally rich voice sounding almost intoxicated by the euphoria of falling for someone. The lyrics revel in the tiny, wonderfully ordinary details of infatuation, dancing in a parking lot, holding hands in a cereal aisle, hearing someone say your name, and that specificity gives the song its charm. It feels more like the world suddenly becoming brighter because one person is in it.
By “bubblegum with razorblades,” the sweetness gets teeth. Driving guitars and a catchy rhythm propel Connolly’s thick, soaring vocal as she pushes back against someone who once knew exactly how to get under her skin. The central image is deliciously nasty, it has sweetness fused with pain. She sounds wounded, furious and increasingly unwilling to bite her tongue, turning resentment into something irresistibly singable.
“better than this” shifts gears again, wrapping self-doubt in witty, conversational songwriting. Connolly lists her flaws, messy habits, overthinking, loud laughter, burnt dinners and existential spirals, as though she is building a case for why someone should leave, only to expose the real fear underneath: she desperately wants them to stay.
Across she’s too much!, Connolly makes imperfection part of the aesthetic. It upturns the image of the perfect girl. Check it out on Spotify.
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Photo credits: Christina Bryson and Raf West
Review by: Naomi Joan