One of the major upsides of TikTok, especially when you’re a music journalist, is constantly finding new artists. The platform enables artists to gain an audience as they start to release music, especially if they’re as creative about their promotion as Gilanares is – from making her own merch, which you should definitely check out on depop, to eating lasagna in the bathtub fully clothed.
Describing herself as an “emo Taylor Swift”, Gilanares always combines raw lyrics with varied, experimental instrumentals to showcase the most vulnerable parts of herself and society. Her newest song, an alt-rock son that sometimes ventures into a grungy take on pop, talks about wishing you were someone else and fitting into someone’s expectations – hence the title ‘I just wanna be your princess’ – while acknowledging than “even if [she wants], [she’d] still find a way to stay sad.”
She previously released a live version of the song on YouTube a year ago, and put out the studio version on Spotify on the 15th of September. The song fits perfectly into her discography, all filled with new perspectives and sounds, whether it’s softer songs like ‘I’d like to meet the moon’ - my personal favourite song to cry to, can recommend - or bolder songs, leaning more into the alternative, raw side to her music, like ‘girls rib cages.’
Gilanares' newest release is perfectly emblematic for her specific sound, constantly floating between genres while maintaining a clear identity, throughout her lyrics, vocals and visuals, as shown in the video for ‘u caught me at a bad time’, another stunning song, with ethereal vocals first melting into a dramatic, guitar-backed chorus, then an electronic synth second verse.
Always showcasing new sides to her music and a truly unique vulnerability and rawness to in lyrics, Gilanares is an incredibly exciting artist we definitely recommend keeping an eye on!
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