Album Review: Indiana – Not Girlfriend Material
Never one to do things by halves, the painful wait for Indiana’s debut record ‘No Romeo’ is the stuff of pop legend. Way before Dua Lipa decided to delay her record approximately 23 times before dropping it, Nottingham’s own Indy had fans hungry for more with every single release. Well worth the wait though, the record cemented her position as one of the city’s finest exports. This time, quite the opposite from her previous campaign, she announced the release of her record mere days before it was released to the world. ‘Not Girlfriend Material’ presents a new Indiana, liberated and invigorated with music to match. Here’s a couple of reasons why you’d be a fool to let it pass you by…
Fans of breakthrough single ‘Solo Dancing’ can rejoice, there is plenty here that sit shoulder-to-shoulder with her biggest tune to date. ‘I Like Drinking’ is an instant highlight and dishes out hooks-a-plenty, you’ll be mouthing along to the (many) refrains before the song is finished.
Save for the second half of the record and ‘My Friends Don’t Like You’ positions itself as another potential hit. This infectious banger oozes the care-free attitude that sets this record apart from her debut. It also has a lion roaring in it and there isn’t really enough of that in pop music is there?
In her numerous pre-album Instagram Q&A’s, I was keen to ask Indiana if the darkness that permeated through ‘No Romeo’ would also infiltrate onto this sophomore effort. She confirmed that ‘Pretty’ is the darkest one on offer and she isn’t wrong – whilst the unsettling ‘Ninety Six Hours’ harnesses a killer atmosphere, it’s this song and its lyrics that concern a relationship plagued by an abusive level of control. In the chorus, as she sings “If you ever run away, pretty little thing, I’ll find you – now I am the voice inside you” – the almost seductive tone of her voice mirrors the threatening mind control she sings about. On its surface, a beautiful mid-tempo, disguising the underbelly of its lyrical content, much akin to the relationship Indiana sings about.
If I can cast some light shade at ‘Not Girlfriend Material’, it’s that it only comes in at a smidgeon over half an hour long whilst ‘No Romeo’ served me up a massive 19 tracks upon its release. Girl got me greedy and I want more. Perhaps the physical release can be bolstered with some of the gorgeous unreleased tracks Indy has teased us with; you know us Nottingham folk love to moan about something, but until then these 10 bops will keep fans more than happy.