SASAMI - Blood On the Silver Screen Review
SASAMI’s pop pivot is ambitious and often intriguing, but a scattered tracklist and lyrical clichés keep ‘Blood On the Silver Screen’ from fully sticking the landing.
SASAMI knows how to switch it up. I first recall her for a track called ‘I Was A Window’ off her self-titled debut; a slow, soft guitar lead track centred around a one sided relationship. A switch up in sounds would come in the latter album ‘Squeeze’, inviting a heavy rock influence with much more abrasiveness, albeit moments of gentle softness still present. Her ability to mould herself into new genres and still land on the mark is no different with her most mainstream effort, ‘Blood On the Silver Screen’. A fun series of songs lamenting on the different elements of love ensues, from falling out of it, to falling well within it, playing into pop’s most popular point of lyrical inspiration as she switches things up once again.
The ingredients for pop stardom are across the album. Memorable lines such as’ I’m such a cancer, I wish I had the answer baby’, are sure to entice fans of Taylor Swift and Chappell Roan. Another full metamorphic moment is presented with the dance track ‘Possessed’, a supported move to a new genre that her light vocals work well within, supported by the harsh, snappy electronic drum beat. Closer ‘Seed’ is grungy and harkens back to her predeceasing album, its ending pestering out for a moment of.
Despite her efforts, it is when the tracks deviate back into her rocky sensibilities that the music excels. ‘Love Makes You Do Crazy Things’ begs for the guitars to be mixed so they are harsher and more abrasive. Writing about love is to write about the cliche, but the lyrics at some points in the album do fall into the cliche to the point where the charm fades.
SASAMI’s collection of broad pop can fall flat at times, but when her artistry comes into full force, you can see how it could come up against some of the best pop music around today. It does feel too much of a hodge podge collection of songs rather than a cohesive effort that makes the album lose momentum at points, but there is no refuting the fun of watching SASAMI take hold of a new genre with a tight grasp.