In the songs on Los Angeles singer-songwriter Akira Galaxy's debut EP What's Inside You, pure and unfiltered emotional connection is everything. In their romantic vortexes, nothing seems to be in question, and consummate mutual understanding feels possible. Eventually, though, difficult moments throw deeper truths into relief, exposing the ways in which the narrators have been misled. Akira writes soulful and atmospheric alternative pop songs about being lost in these kinds of states, inserting bittersweet or acidic asides.
With divergent touchstones like Radiohead, Cocteau Twins (she covers Elizabeth Fraser's Massive Attack collaboration "Teardrop"), and Fleetwood Mac, What's Inside You covers a great deal of musical as well as spiritual territory across its five songs. Ecstatic but emotionally unsparing, immediate and catchy but sophisticated, the EP announces an artist eager to explore divergent ideas and already invested with a fully formed songwriting voice.
Born Akira Galaxy Ament, the 23-year-old singer cut her teeth as a musician while fronting high school bands in Seattle, having been steeped in eclectic music by her family since she was a toddler. In her songwriting and performance, she combines the grit and attitude of the alt-rock of her hometown -where she often retreats to write � with a sleeker, more transatlantic aesthetic. Aided by producers Chris Coady (Beach House, TV On the Radio, The Kills) and Sam Westhoff, the songs on the EP blend rock 'n' roll edge with synth gestures reminiscent of '80s dream pop. Akira's smoky vocals feel intimate and otherworldly at the same time, mirroring the moments in her songs when the real and the imagined seem to fold together and become inextricable.
