EP Review: Aramide Is In Fine Form on Bittersweet
While fans wait for her sophomore album, the afro-soul singer offers a five-track pack of musical goodies.
The last time Aramide released an official body of work was in 2016. The project, Suitcase, which was her debut album, earned critical acclaim. The following year, she went on a world tour, performing in Nigeria, Ghana, United States, Canada and other countries. In 2019, she became a mother. That same year, she put out Songversation With Aramide Live, Vol. 1, a live EP of already-released singles and songs from Suitcase.
Her new project, Bittersweet, is an appetizer for her fans while she works on the sophomore album. At a running time of 17 minutes, the five-track EP has production handprints from SizzlePRO, Type A and T.U.C.
On the cover, Aramide’s skin is spotless on the left side of her face; on the right side is a black eye. The image is a pictorial translation of the EP’s title. The juxtaposition of both emotions—sad and happy—is reflected in the music: gloomy ballads and joyful tunes.
“Love is bitter/Bittersweet,” Aramide, heartbroken, laments on the title track. She sings of losing herself to negativity and feeling the jabs of loneliness. In the second verse, she accuses her status as a celebrity—“Fame is bitter/Bittersweet”—of the ill feelings residing in her. “This life I’m living is all I’ve worked for/Screaming fans/ The biggest stage/Just one mistake and it all could disappear,” she sings against a background of drums and electric guitar strings.
The sweetness comes alive on “Down for You,” a mid-tempo song, which features the identical duo, Boybreed. The trio reassures their loved ones about their commitment. “I don’t see nobody when you’re with me/Everything about you got me wanting more/When I’m with you I can’t get enough baby,” Boybreed sing.
DMW crooner Peruzzi appears on “Iyawo Wa,” a highlife-influenced number about a woman enjoying the goodwill of her fiancé’s family. Peruzzi brings his swagger, telling his lover that although he is a member of 30BG (a term for friends and artistes associated with Davido’s DMW) and the attraction of women towards him is not in short supply, he still prefers her because “…na you dey give me harmony.”
“Shey you feel for me/Like I feel for you?” Aramide asks in a tender tone on “Ma Lo.” She needs reassurance and promises her love interest that there is nothing she can’t do for him. She pleads with him not to leave her. There is a not-entirely-happy feeling that this track evokes. It falls in the middle of bittersweet.
The last track “Forever” is a lover’s favourite. “Forever and ever and ever and ever/We go dey carry dey go,” Aramide sings. She also shows off her vocal dexterity on the song, swaying from a high pitch to a higher one to a low one. There is an airiness in the singing that suggests that Aramide was beaming while she recorded the song.
For fans of Aramide and newcomers alike, Bittersweet is a good place to revel in. It is a reminder of the singer’s ability to channel her emotions into both heart-tugging and groovy sounds. The EP is a promise that, hopefully, the album fulfils.
Go HERE to stream Bittersweet.