The Boston indie pop singer-songwriter, Maya Salafia, broke the two-year spell of silence with the songwriting alchemy caged within the melodies of her latest single, Swim. Instead of skimming over the most obvious emotional themes in a love song, the young prodigy delved deeper, dipping into the sense of duality we are forced to navigate when falling in love and trying to keep a firm grip on our autonomy.
The line, “I never knew existing could be so much work and I hate you ‘cos you like me and I can’t breathe without you taking it away”, in particular, shows that Maya Salafia knows just how to run with a metaphor into unexpected territory and leave you awestruck by a resonant epiphany in the process.
If Maya Salafia doesn’t follow in at least some of Taylor Swift’s footsteps, I suggest we start a riot. Coincidentally, it isn’t only the poetic lyricism that would be equally as at home on Swift’s latest LP which bares reminiscence to the undeniable member of the contemporary pop pantheon. The breezy guitar chord progressions and vocal lines also echo in the same vein as Swift’s earlier work when the guitars aren’t running through the angular indie jangle pop notes and hook-rife warmly overdriven chords. If you’re sick of tuning into throwaway pop hits, hit play and find your new playlist staple.
Swim was officially released on April 12th; stream the single on Spotify.
Review by Amelia Vandergast