Sharmila dives into dreamy, danceable, full of lush textures, along with a number of other pleasant surprises on her new music. The Netherlands based songstress creates a members-only affair where the ethos of the late ’80s and ’90s free-party rave scene meets cutting-edge electronic music.
It’s music that creates a soothing bubble, not to seal off the outside world but to create space to breathe within it. The tracks that best exemplify this idea are mostly mid-tempo in her self-titled album and are designed for perspective, not escape.
Sharmila rises to meet thrilling fantasies on “Burning For You (Club Mix)” as the artist wishes away her desires, lust, and blues. The suggestion that a romantic connection could be more important than a divine one would have registered as a bold act on this track, compared to the more thoughtful single “Respect Your Body.”
It’s an especially welcome development given that pop music’s well-defined parameters, combined with a retro-fetishizing reverence for the past, have sometimes left the music feeling cautious and conservative. With favorite tracks like “Running” and “Guess I Was a Fool” one sees a new generation of artists such as Sharmila finding ways to tweak familiar templates, carving a zig-zag path between respect for her predecessors and a determination to do things her own way.
On her single, “Dna Damage,” it sounds amped up as to be a caricature tune, with big technicolor beats and a big, tenderly sung ballad from the singer-songwriter, and it turns out to be another strong entry. For the most part, it’s compulsively listenable, oddly moving, and stranger than it first appears, as Sharmila gets existential on the dance floor.
Pop music is in a remarkably good place right now. The underground is thriving, bolstered by a network of labels, club nights, warehouse parties, and off-the-beaten-path festivals, all with a staunchly independent spirit that’s a world away from the high-flying, big-ticket milieu of commercial danceable music. And Sharmila seems in a bid to feel this gap with her new music.
