The best pop is the sort that slaps you in the face when you’re not expecting it and let’s face it, a pop artist has to slap pretty hard to get noticed these days.
Fortunately the sound on “Going Down”, the new single from London dark-pop artist Circe, pummels and pounds with beats and emotion shaking hard against the well-worn collars of many formulaic peers. And it hits the target in just two and a half minutes!
Opening with the line ‘I’m not supposed to / but I fucking love you’, it’s a song of forbidden love and sexual liberation, with vocals equal part cutesy drawl and pop attitude. The video sees clips of her dressed as a cheerleader scattered among Catholic imagery and Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet.
Aptly enchanting, Circe’s lyrics are a blend of diary extracts and pop culture references which creates an intriguing aesthetic. “Going Down” builds on the impressive 2020 single “Ten Girls”, a moody slab of engaging pop inspired by The Handmaid’s Tale which evokes the broodier side of Fever Ray. More, please.
