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Music Review: Cenza – City Lights


    Cenza - City Lights-2

    “City Lights” is a hazy, often mesmerizing take on modern love tropes infused with enough electronic sensibilities to ensure the lushest of pop music’s lyrical stereotypes. What’s most striking about Cenza’s latest single isn’t its breathtakingly luminous atmosphere. What’s really impressive is her songwriting ability. Born and raised in Red Bank, NJ, Cenza (“chen-za”), the NYC pop singer is also stately in her approach, which sounds like a seasoned amalgamation of styles. This record is essentially a slow burner wrapped in evocative vignettes that shimmer and build, sometimes to an immense payoff.

    Glistening production, remarkable consistency, and superb songwriting are not things you would necessarily expect from an artist putting out a premiere single, yet “City Lights”  feels – for lack of more careful praise – perfect. Produced by Michael Abiuso/Behind the Curtains Media, Ryan Brahams , and Cenza and written by Cenza herself, the music is highly digestible and doesn’t stray too far from the foundation set by those involved. You hear moments of bold confidence and equal parts vulnerability as the artist croons her way through poppy interiors and a bar-infused love story that reflects her movement away from being heart broken and sad, to letting go, and finally moving on from what once held her back.

    The song carries a mix of melancholy and optimism with high spirited lyricism. But, it’s the ‘dark’ that makes the song’s lighter moments stand out, even if the song’s central theme relies on contextually relationship fed material – not unlike a greater portion of the genre’s larger and trendy lyrical themes. There’s enough dream pop here to bring new modern audiences to the popular genre, and archetypal to maintain those who would argue about the ins and outs of the genre. Nonetheless, it’s clear at this point that Cenza is content to have her brand of dream-pop simply soar to the skies with much less emotional baggage on board.

    Cenza - City Lights-3

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