Dua Saleh, Nur, EP Review
Dua Saleh
Nur
EP Review
Ladies and gentlemen, 2019 is now upon us and it is unfortunately that time of year that music lovers such as myself find to be a bit of an awkward period.
While there are many promising projects said to be on the way, I have been really delving deep in order to find completely new music. And in a way I'm glad that I did. Otherwise I may have not found this debut effort from an artist with a tonne of potential.
Dua Saleh decided to kick things off straight away with a five-track EP called "Nur". And while it is obviously very brief, it still didnt fail to really grab my attention. It sounded very innovative on first listen and while I must admit the effect has worn off slightly, I would still deem it a thoroughly enjoyable listen which I would highly recommend.
The EP begins with the track "Sugar Mama" which just oozes charisma from Dua Saleh and really gets across her aesthetic. The occasional string plucks that make up part of the production contrast quite nicely with the ticking rhythm and it definitely adds an extra layer of quirkiness that certainly cements it as a very unique song.
Vocally, the next track "Albany" reminded me a lot of something that Lorde might come out with and is perfectly accompanied by a slow and slinky rhythm that becomes something a lot more abstract sounding the further you go into the track. I also really love the distorted harmonies that really give the song this kind of mirage. My only criticism of the track would by that it feels slightly over extensive and overstayed its welcome a tiny bit. Other than that though, great track!
We now get to the middle of this EP with one of the most prominent tracks as well as the first track I had heard from the EP. "Warm Pants" sticks in my mind a lot. The main reason being that infectious bass riff that signals this songs beginning. It has a much grittier and more urban undertone than the previous two songs and has an excellent sense of progression.
Following this is the mystical sounding "Survival". I was certainly immersed in the production of this track for the first couple of listens thanks to its very spiritual and hazy atmosphere. Paired with the up-pitched vocals from Dua Saleh as well as some from Velvet Negroni who features on this track, it made for a very indulgent listen.
And finally, the fifth song is the arguable highlight for me in the form of "Kickflip". The song is by far the most upbeat sounding with an electro beat and a gorgeous nocturnal atmosphere. The song also has a very clear message of not letting people scare you out at night and targets a very relevant issue regarding peoples confidence to be themselves in public. But it mainly just feels like a very feel-good track for me and is a very satisfying way to close the EP.
The most important thing I can really say about this EP is that it is most definitely worth listening to. With this essentially being the debut of Dua Saleh, I can imagine that there are plans to have more music on the way and quite frankly, I can't wait!
Thank you for reading.
Booth Boy
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