What used to be nostalgic inspirations are now becoming nothing else but the norm in modern music. This notion rings true from a variety of angles within the contemporary online music landscape, but perhaps one of the most telling examples of its occurrence is through the resurgence of styles such as breakcore and trance within its grander lexicon.
These two styles along with quite a few others are vivid representations of what our modern youth were brought up on and thus inspired by throughout the 2000s and early 2010s. Artists that embody their aspects are not just taking simple cues from them, they are going all in to truly translate how effective these influences are through their music entirely — putting a modern spin on them in the process.
Given that this trend will undoubtedly continue throughout this new year and beyond, it only makes sense that 2021 would be kicked off by an absolute masterwork of this outlook in Emotionals’ new EP “Onnea.” No other project in recent memory translates these past descriptions quite as effectively as this brief, yet unbelievably dense 4-track experience does in full.
Being self-produced and performed entirely by Emotionals themself, this EP is a deeply personal effort on the part of our main subject from practically every single angle imaginable. Everything from the blissfully sentimental lyrics that are sweetly delivered on each track here, right down to those aforementioned instrumental facets that mostly stem from break-esque stylistics work to give evidence to that fact beyond any reason.
The leading title track does all it needs to in providing an ideal entrance into this fleeting experience. Its addicting synth lead finds itself joined by some of the lushest and most involved instrumentation heard out of this pocket of the scene — a fact that certainly translates over into the even more lyrically-apparent “perFect.”
The project easily hits its peak once “wastedd” arrives, which takes all that both this project itself and the styles it is wishing to embody and turns them up to the highest degree possible. This track holds an unbelievably captivating instrumental full of high-pitched leads and furiously rapid percussion — all joined by a star-making performance from Emotionals on vocals throughout. It leads so elegantly into the subdued closing track “something More,” which caps off the project in a fittingly solemn manner.
Each minute of this EP makes the absolute best out of the current state of online music and its relationship with styles of the past. The modern elements that Emotionals was able to add throughout the entirety of its runtime make themselves abundantly clear on any full listen, and they become that much more impressive given how seamless and spotless this project ended up being. There is so much more to explore given how untapped this approach is to this point, but it is safe to say that with someone like Emotionals at the forefront of it all, the future is in such amazing hands.