Following her debut EP ‘Summerhood,’ Québécois singer/songwriter Chiara Savasta’s ‘brand new girl, brand new machine’ EP encompasses the transition into adulthood while playfully evolving one’s identity.
‘brand new girl, brand new machine’ – Chiara Savasta
It’s easy to feel negatively influenced by others – to become tangled in their games and have our sense of identity diminish.
If exiting a complex relationship or a negative period in life, the new sense of control that we hold can be powerful. It’s as though a switch in our head has been pressed and suddenly we are a hundred times stronger and authoritative than before. brand new girl, brand new machine, the recent EP by singer/songwriter Chiara Savasta (released November 29, 2024 via Cult Nation) encompasses well this emotion.
Whether it’s the energized guitars or the intimate and honest lyrics, it’s like the accumulated angst or inner emotions, accumulated in the solitude of the bedroom, being released with a jump and a kick.
I’ll make it bright and cleaner
than you’ve ever seen
I’m a brand new girl
like a brand new machine
And when it’s time
to get down on my knees
I pray that he is watching over me
And I know you want me sad and teary,
braided hair, crossed legs sit pretty
Waiting for my turn in line,
I’m the purest here tonight
– “brand new girl, brand new machine,” Chiara Savasta
brand new girl, brand new machine is comprised of six songs. The title track, which opens it, mixes Savasta’s delicate whispery vocals with an explosion of catchy energy. “i hate djs” has a dreamy side, the instruments whirling with indie rock casualness. ‘Wake up, sun’s up/ Welcome to my world/ Put on a t-shirt, don’t look in the mirror’ she sings at the start, the words skipping along innocently.
“heaven” recounts in detail the obsessive thoughts when attracted to someone but to afraid to initiate a conversation or connection. There’s a laid-back warmth that washes through the song, as though reminiscing about a summer crush.
The EP follows Savasta’s debut EP, Summerhood, which was first released in 2022. Both explore the transition from adolescence to adulthood, the songs being written in the confines of Savasta’s bedroom. While Summerhood is mostly melancholic and slow in sound, brand new girl, brand new machine is packed with more punch, the touch of pop creating a sense of fun. As the 23-year-old singer/songwriter from Montreal explains in the accompanying press release, the songs have accompanied her on her personal journey to launching a career as a musician, notably the evolution into becoming a girl who’s stronger, more capable and unafraid.
“Ce projet a aussi débuté au moment de ma vie où j’ai réellement décidé de suivre mes rêves quelque part entre mes 22 et 23 ans,” she explains. “L’idée de devenir cette fille capable de tout – forte, inébranlable – s’est concrétisée à travers le processus. Cette nouvelle version de moi-même, je l’ai façonnée avec ce projet, et elle m’accompagne encore aujourd’hui.” (translation via Google: “This project also started at the time in my life when I really decided to follow my dreams somewhere between the ages of 22 and 23. The idea of becoming this girl who can do anything – strong, unwavering – came to fruition through the process. I shaped this new version of myself with this project, and it still accompanies me today.”)
I’m walking, I’m behind you
Your t-shirt is damp from the heat
The colors are so bright
If you ask me to stay here,
I’ll stay here
You turn right, I go left
When the bell rings, I’m shattered
In pieces
Oh, how hard would it be
To ask you to stay here?
Would you stay here?
– “heaven,” Chiara Savasta
Musically, there is a simplicity throughout the songs of Chiara Savasta, and this comes from the inspiration of other artists. “superstar loser” was born from a week listening to The Strokes in the studio as well the discovery of Wet Leg and the way that they deliver their lyrics.
In “superstar loser,” Savasta releases her unsatisfied emotions regarding a guy, asking him ‘Superstar loser, your pants are on the floor/ Where is your mother when you’re calling me a whore?’ before bursting a chorus that’s both playful and hinted with nostalgia.
On the 29 November, Chiara Savasta was the opener for singer/songwriter Claudia Bouvette at Grizzly Fuzz in Quebec. She presented her music, and the EP which was released that day, with a combination of innocence and attitude. As an introduction (Savasta is still at the start of her career and therefore unknown to many), it fitted well alongside Claudia Bouvette, whose two albums (The Paradise Club and latest release DIARY FOR THE LONELY HEARTS) encourage solidarity and the transition into becoming more independent. brand new girl, brand new machine is also like a diary, with the musings being looked upon as a way to compare ourselves to the person who we were in the past.
In keeping with the solidarity, Savasta explained during the show that “julia’s song” was written for her best friend who was going through a difficult period. ‘Julia, you’re the girl of my dreams/All dressed up like a star on the movie screen’ she sings, confirming what she announced beforehand regarding Julia being the coolest person she knows. In the chorus she expresses, ‘Julia, your situation’s stationary/ Loving you, is all the more involuntary/ Excuse me I’m, turning red from oversharing/You make me blue, make me blue,’ with the words flowing like fluffy white clouds in a sunny sky.
The blurring of innocence and attitude that was present throughout Savasta’s set encompasses well the EP brand new girl, brand new machine.
It’s an example of how making music and art can be a tool for altering our identity and building confidence.
The beauty in that is how this can also be transmitted to the listener, giving them a newfound determination and reassurance as well.
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“superstar loser” – Chiara Savasta
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