Australian indie-pop artist, St. South has just released her third EP, "BIG SADS", a project that has been a long time coming. This EP has been in the works for quite a while now, and consists of 5 very personal tracks that St. South wrote after the passing of her father in 2020.
TRACKLIST
BIG SADS
A Good Year
So Many Places
Better Days
Didn't Need You
St. South, also known by Olivia Gavranich (she/they), is a Perth-born, now Sydney based singer/songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist. She officially debuted in 2014 with her single "Slacks" which went viral when it was featured on multiple TV shows like The Vampire Diaries, UnReal, and MTV's Finding Carter. The song has amassed almost 50 million streams on Spotify alone. In 2016, St. South released her first EP, "Nervous Energy", which also gained millions of streams and led her song "Another Way" to be featured on FreeForm's The Fosters. She released a second EP in 2017, "Inure", and then her debut album in 2020, "Get Well Soon". Sadly, in 2020 St. South experienced the loss of her father to cancer, which really took a toll on her mental health. She stepped away from writing music, what was described as a "creative paralysis" - until six months later when she sat down in her home studio while now dealing with the end of a long-term relationship, and she let all of her pint up emotions pour out onto paper. Thus, the process of the "BIG SADS" EP began, and so did the process of St. South's healing. As we listen to each song on this project, we are experiencing the very personal journey of St. South; from loss and grief, to a sense of hope and optimism.
BIG SADS
We kick off the EP with the title track, "BIG SADS". St. South says this is the last track she wrote for the EP. She felt the project needed one more song, but didn't know where to start because of the depression they had been struggling with. So she sat at the piano, and starting singing about how sad they felt, and thus the song "BIG SADS" was born. St. South also says she instantly knew that this was what she had to name the EP, because it really sums up the emotion she was feeling behind every song. "BIG SADS" has a hip-hop-esque looped beat, with a piano melody and gentle guitar. It's a very alt. pop production between the heavy percussion with a contrasting folk-like vocal style as St. South sings softly with heavily reverbed layers of background vocals. Her voice in this particular song was reminding me a lot of Phoebe Bridgers, with the very conversational, nonchalant type of tone.
A Good Year
"A Good Year" deals with St. South's depression after her father's passing head-on. After months of not leaving the house and completely shutting down, St. South finally said to herself one day while sitting on the couch, "I just want a good year". This one sentence sparked a melody inside St. South's head, which led her to go to her piano, and begin writing this song. For the first time since losing her dad, St. South was starting to come out of her funk. She was allow herself to feel, and she was using writing and music as her outlet again. The lyrics take us through all the darkness that had been reigning over St. South for these past few painful months of her life, and how she just wants to be able to feel better. "A Good Year" has a catchy beat, with a unique bedroom-pop vibe and synth-filled production. St. South's vocals are pitched and distorted with effects that give it a slight hyperpop tone. It's a very gentle, soft soundscape but has that hard-hitting percussion to amp up the energy just ever so slightly.
So Many Places
Next, we have "So Many Places", which is about St. South looking back on all the things that have happened in these past few years, and how much life has changed to the point that places she used to go all the time, are now places she will probably never go again - both literally, and figuratively. From going through a global pandemic, to losing her dad, to breakups, to just the wonders of life and how we're constantly evolving, St. South uses this song to reflect on how different things are now, and how fast things can change. It's a bit of a melancholic song, but it's vibe is very mid-tempo and laid-back. The style is very influenced by RnB, especially in it's mellow guitars, popping bass and emphasized beat. St. South sings delicately, and you can tell the words come straight from the heart. Her tone and the melody in this one really reminded me of not only Phoebe Bridgers again, but Gracie Abrams as well. That sweet, whispery timbre really draws you in.
Better Days
Although "Better Days" has a bit of a somber soundscape, it's actually a song of love and optimism. A few month's before St. South's dad passed, she met someone who now today is her fiancée. "Better Days" was inspired by her, and St. South wrote it as an anniversary gift in which she performed it for her before proposing. It's about having someone by your side to love you when you're having the battle of a lifetime inside your own mind. Because of this person, you know they can help you heal, and bring you better days. This track has a very hip-hop inspired rhythm and beat, with a haunting piano melody. The lyrics repeat, with pitched vocals, sounding like a cry out, or a longing for better days, while also still fighting those dark voices inside of your head. It's a very relatable song, with phenomenal production that you just have to listen to to understand.
Didn't Need You
Lastly, we have "Didn't Need You" to bring the EP to a close. "Didn't Need You" was originally intended to be the last track of St. South's debut album, "Get Well Soon", but ended up not making the cut. So now, it finally gets a chance to shine, as it's story perfectly fits in sonically and with the theme and emotion of "BIG SADS". This song has layers of dissonant, synthesized vocal harmonizes and a minimalistic pop instrumentation. St. South puts her voice and lyrics at the forefront, you can almost hear her smile through her tone as it's a song about that moment when you realize you're strengths and capabilities as an individual; when you finally break free from the chains of someone toxic in your life, and you know now that you never needed them in the first place. “The only thing greater than being physically free of someone is knowing that you’re free from the belief that you couldn’t survive without them,” - St. South.
St. South has a signature sound that is already hard to beat; but then when you pair that with the most vulnerable and personal lyrics she's ever had, it takes her music to a whole new level. It's indie / alt. pop perfection - not to mention the pure, genuine emotion behind her voice as well. Listening to the "BIG SADS" EP is like being able to hear inside of St. South's mind while she was going through one of the most difficult moments in her entire life. Music like this, that comes straight from the heart and is honest work, is the best kind of music - not only because it makes listeners really feel things, but because there's many out there who can relate to these situations as well. They need this music to help them along in their own journeys, and to make them realize that they're not alone. If you enjoyed "BIG SADS", I highly suggest diving into the rest of St. South's impressive discography and giving her a follow below!
Written By Kaitlyn Nicole
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