Review: Maisyn’s newest glowing indie-pop tune ‘Long Hair’ shines in an empowering sound sure to be your next post-breakup anthem
If there’s one thing to be known about the upcoming indie-pop artist Maisyn, it’s that she’s always willing to bear her heart on her sleeve through a sound alike no other. Though reminiscent of acts like Maisie Peters and Maggie Rogers, Maisyn continues to exude an air to everything she does that no one else can quite capture, and her debut EP ‘Cool Grl’ expressed all of that wonderfully for the first time in a spanning project. Now moving forward, Maisyn’s newest single ‘Long Hair’ is one you’ll certainly wish you’d heard sooner.
Ladened in a more easy-going, vibrant palette of sound that’s a little more daring and dance-along than some of Maisyn’s more personal releases fall, ‘Long Hair’ finds itself falling around you like the comforting arms of a friend giggling into the late night air. Embraced with an ambient audio of chattering voices, bright guitar plucks, drum patters and what sounds like keyboard keys, the vivid introduction of ‘Long Hair’ is one that really paints a picture for you, capturing the feel of a riverside café brimming with life and contagious ease. The opening verse dims into bass twangs and thudding beats, a paired-back building up of momentum that progressively re-introduces other layerings of beats, subdued guitar strums and a colourful looping keyboard riff. As Maisyn captures an in-between of intimacy and euphoria, ‘Long Hair’ only continues to fizzle and flow through your eardrums, soaked in personal resonance and a newfound confidence. Soft vocals weave through the more tender sound, airily floating into a higher range while still offering a catchy delivery you can’t help but sing along to every word of - even when you don’t quite know them yet. The chorus simmers into an unexpected moment of poignance, stripped down to just intermittent acoustic guitar strums and Maisyn’s transcendent vocals before an eclectic feeling riff and instrumental burst sees things out into the second verse. Things only continue to evolve and grow from this point onwards as Maisyn clearly knows how to create a track that’s not just centred around her storytelling, but equally delivers a narrative in its’ intricately laid sound too. From ever-heightened instrumental explosions like the following verse and even further pushed chorus, as well as an unexpectedly heavenly bridge, there’s no lack of growth and continual evolution in both Maisyn’s words and her sound alike.
With a message that errs between uplifting and aching all at once, ‘Long Hair’ finds itself flowing out with lyricism inspired by those post-breakup blues, looking for a newfound calm as life shifts and of course embracing the staple dramatic haircut as a metaphor for changing and moving forward. Cutting her hair at an attempt to forcibly let go, Maisyn writes ‘swept my past right into the waste-bin’ , a decision to move on as somebody fresh and unknown to the person who just broke her heart. Attempting to live more through the present than reminisce on what could’ve been, ‘Long Hair’ is really an anthem for embracing a big change, even if at first it feels deeply uncomfortable. As she finds growth and a new identity within this turmoil, Maisyn sings ‘didn’t think I could get better till I did’, discovering the true depth of her strength and character as well as learning to love herself without a care for anybody else. This recently discovered freedom flows through lyrics like ‘I like how my long hair feels when I’m dancing’, finding herself letting go of all expectations and just enjoying every moment as it is, as well as finding a new version of herself to cherish with her hair grown out. While much of ‘Long Hair’ is deeply personal in its avenues of heartbreak and dependance shone through penned words like ‘guess back then I needed to get rid of her, the version of myself who sold him my soul’, Maisyn manages to twist her lows into something incredibly inspiring. Learning independence while flourishing both happily and healthily, ‘Long Hair’ really is that reminder to be the person who makes you feel most alive, never stripping yourself down for anyone or anything.
Maisyn adds on her writing of the narrative that, “I never meant for my hair to be a metaphor for my emotional growth but it just happened that way. One morning I went to brush my teeth and when I looked in the mirror I noticed that my hair got super long and I looked happy and healthy. I hadn’t thought that about myself in a long time.”
Check out ‘Long Hair’ here to appreciate Maisyn’s sound that’ll get you on your feet and dancing away those darker thoughts, finding peace in your solitude.
Written by: Tatiana Whybrow
Photo Credits: Unknown
// This coverage was created via Musosoup, #SustainableCurator.
