REVIEW: Bel - “Or Nothing” Single
From Weird Sister Records comes a unique experience with Bel, a project by Philly-based artist Isabel Furman. This release is part of a 12 single series based on the Zodiac signs, starting with Aquarius. As an Aquarius moon, Bel is eccentric and can convey creative and beautiful storytelling in her music. While Aquarius’ are typically seen as detached individuals, they often are just internalizing all of their emotions to protect themselves from potentially painful experiences. As an Aquarius moon myself, I definitely relate to trying to hide the emotions rather than coming out and saying it all.
Photo by Alexandria Riesberg
Her song “Or Nothing” is a smooth ride of emotions that encapsulated her life at that moment. Writing the song about a complicated romantic relationship, her intense lyrics accompanied by a light and funky beat oppose each other to cloak the hurt she felt. “I wrote it as a way to convince myself that I could look back on a painful experience with clarity and composure, that the memory wouldn't hurt so much if it was cloaked beneath a fun groove.” Bel uses synths and different artistic styles in her music to mask this emotion and also create an extraordinary sound for us to listen to. Taking influence from jazz, rock, and folk music, she classifies herself under a cloud of dreamy folk and indie-rock. Her voice is soft and welcoming and the guitar perfectly matches her storytelling. I feel like I’m floating in the sky listening to this song, it’s just so fun to listen to.
While it was not released with a music video, there is a wonderful live performance on Youtube where she performs the song on a rooftop back in January. She’s accompanied by Drew B on drums and Scott Dabundo on keyboard. It looks cold and cloudy and I think it matches the complexities of the song perfectly. The next release of the Weird Sisters will be Pisces and just recently transitioning into Pisces season, we will likely get a release in the next couple weeks. If you’re looking for some new music that has incredible songwriting and fantastic musicality, check out Bel below. Keep an eye out for her next project as well, which is set to release this March!
WHERE TO FIND BEL
Facebook | Youtube | Instagram | Spotify | Apple Music