Pure piano pop that cements success

A few days ago, I pondered where Frances’ sound had left to venture given the vast expanse of style that separated ‘Grow’, ‘Let It Out’ and ‘I Care’. Luckily, Frances’ ‘Let It Out’ EP not only shuts my mouth but does so with a gentle grace and coherent beauty.

The biggest fear I faced going into Frances’ second EP was this: with ‘Let It Out’ being a more upbeat indie-pop sound and ‘I Care’ possessing a much more bass-focused musical styling that was much more electronic than anything else, is this EP – containing both tracks – going to sound disjointed and awkward?

Frances steers clear of any awkward musical transitions luckily, and ‘Let It Out’ flows beautifully and harmoniously from the opening chant of ‘Let It Out’ to the closing fade of ‘Eye Of The Storm’. What Frances has done, to her credit, is structure the EP in a way that creates musical mountains of dynamic. Opener ‘Let It Out’ is lively, despite the hints of melancholy, while the following track ‘Set Sail’ is much more sombre and downtempo. The same tempo shift is present between the remaining two tracks.

Uniting all these tempo and style changes is a musical approach that is, fundamentally, the same. While Frances may take her sound to the absolute extremes of distinction, at the core of each song is a strong key section and some glorious vocal melodies that really makes Frances the artist she is. Stripped to its rawest, the purity of sound on piano pop masterclass ‘Set Sail’ is the definition of her sound.

With the closing track ‘Eye Of The Storm’, it’s hard not to get the feeling that Frances might feel a little bit overwhelmed or in over her head with the success she’s attained from her music so far. Luckily, she also seems to be happy with things. Which is fortunate, as this EP affirms her popularity and can only propel her further. What Frances achieves in four tracks and 13 minutes, many other artists fail to achieve in 13 tracks and forty minutes: a coherent and elegant release that cements her as a promising priestess of piano pop.

“In the eye of the storm I’m spinning, but I like what I’ve found.“