Opal Mag stands out in Brighton’s rich crop of musical performers due to her creative instinct for combining “heart on the sleeve” diaristic lyrics sewn together with wonderfully bright melodies. She strikes this winning tone again on new single “World End” from her forthcoming EP “Goodbye Lavender” out on Venn Records May 29th. Here the premise is, perhaps justifiably in the pit of despondency, that the world should cease in the wake of a fresh heartbreak.
The aching and sadness is palpable, if initially unbalanced, so it’s given a buoyant lift in its craving to share that despair with the other party rather than having it used against themselves, being kicked when they’re down. It’s rueful and dramatic, imbued with the overblown torment of any relationship ending but it’s also wrapped up in a sheen of shiny fuzz pop sounds and delivered with a uninhabited abandon, almost, in its demand that everything ends. This includes any semblance of one side controlling the narrative at the others’ expense.
Of course the hyperbole is how pain and tears resolve the demise of love but there’s also a canny set of raw, honest lyrics and musical melodies to hang your hat on through the singles runtime. Opal Mag has a knack for writing these highly intelligent if too brief odes to love, that often peter out, while glazing the experiences with a protective humour – or in this instance an exuberant wish to fairly distribute the shared upset – as seen through a distinctly poppy lens.
You can always feel those smiles even through the tears, self-preservation being the overriding aim and also the joy of being an artist communicating those feelings so readily, that mix is completely fair on this new track especially how she’s willing to open up and say hey, ‘it’s not me’ (or not just me!), it’s also you who should be suffering too.
Connect with Opal Mag: Instagram | Facebook