LCYTN 'Good Nights Bad Stories' EP review

With dreamy, soft tones and resentful messages, Good Nights Bad Stories was perhaps the best name to describe one bitter EP by the sweet LCYTN.

“I’m floating in and out of my head, just ride the wave and keep it moving. Don’t even wanna see tomorrow, I wanna dance away my sorrows.” These are the lyrics to Every Thursday Night, one of the leading songs for the EP Good Night Bad Stories, a perhaps relatable story to many teenagers transitioning into adulthood; a nostalgic time of rebellion and confusion, experiencing some of the memories that will be held on to for a lifetime.

Described as “the lyrical descendant of SZA and the emotional descendant of Frank Ocean”on her Spotify profile, the 22-year-old British Burmese artist shares some of her bleakest times with us through a combination of nostalgic beats and lyrics to get listeners in their feels. This EP not only presents a dark and simultaneously sweet theme, but it has an intimate message deeply rooted within it. It is based in LCYTN transitioning from a naïve girl who thought of the world as harmless, to a grown up experiencing romantic heartbreaks, and “getting through friendships like water”, as her lyrics for the song, 'Water' stirring Mag, reveals.

Like most of the tracks within this EP, the first song being 'Enough', blends in soft vocals, on top of a beat which appears to include Lo-fi elements to bring listeners a bittersweet and contradictive experience. Despite the dark messages within the lyrics, the instrumentals and aesthetics remain cute making this piece of work a deceiving one. The EP cover itself is all pink and the Asian writing along with the anime artwork gives Kwaii vibes, also representing LCYTN’s origins.

Although described as pop, tracks such as 'Every Thursday Night' prove the artist’s versatile sound, she cannot be pinpointed to one sound. In minute 2:07 of the song, we’re taken from a bubbly and energetic beat to a drop of a much slower-paced, trap beat which almost feel like we’ve fallen into a deep daydream.

In an interview with London Student publication, LCYTN explains how the EP aimed at sharing her true emotions beyond her often 'cute' aesthetics. “People wanted to brand me as a cutesy Asian girl: a bit sassy, a bit pop-y.

“But I met someone. It was my first relationship in a very long time. I moved in with him. I started prioritising him, and then it ended within half a day. After that, I couldn’t keep up with the cutesy vibe. I wrote a whole load of songs that had a much darker vibe. They were adult.” So, while the EP may be aesthetically cute, the message is one of self-growth and realisation, one of venting hidden pain within an open letter telling the world "I’m over it".