Recommended Tracks: “Not Afraid,” “Heartthrob,” “Dinner”
Artists You Might Like: Mitski, d4vd, Hannah Jadagu
What do we do with the complicated feelings that come with living through tragedy and trauma? How do we reconcile the fundamental ways in which we change when we’re hurting? Where do we put our heartbreak when it won’t end? When life forces us to the end of ourselves, what happens when we press forward? Indigo De Souza has a few ideas, and she’s shared them today on her fourth studio album, Precipice, released via Loma Vista Recordings.
Written and produced with Elliott Kozel (SZA, FINNEAS), Precipice is an unflinching look into De Souza’s deepest hurts and most vulnerable moments. At once an effervescent pop record and a delicate unraveling of painful memories, Precipice moves both body and spirit with heady melodies and profound lyricism.
Opening track “Be My Love” weaves atmospheric background noise with De Souza’s elegant falsetto pleading, “This is not the end / It can’t be.” This track blooms into a dreamlike zone that feels like the first breath after a coma, and then falls away to the sound of children’s laughter. This is a gorgeous opener that sets the tone for Precipice. The standout lyric is, “I am not the things I have in my house.” This may be related to the loss of De Souza’s Asheville home in Hurricane Helene in 2024. Only a few of her belongings were saved, with the rest having been swept away in the storm’s 12-foot mud line. What a poignant reminder that we are more than what we own.
Next is the hyper-charged single “Crying Over Nothing,” where De Souza wrestles with a heartbreak that won’t quit. Opening with a simple piano, a shuffling beat, and twinkly arpeggiating synths, this track carves a new path forward from heartbreak into euphoria rather than despair. “Crying Over Nothing” creates space for the counterintuitive choice to dance through pain, not crumble beneath it: “I don’t ever wanna sway you, babe / I want you to do what you want to do.” To miss someone and want them back so desperately, but yield to their happiness and wholeness is a true act of love. It goes beyond romantic desire and shows love in a fuller sense.
“Crush” is a syrupy little ditty about oral sex! Yes, a classic horny song, done with class. The synths are very cutesy, and when paired with the ambient guitars and punchy drums, De Souza has created a really unique sound for a sexy song. It’s suggestive without being too graphic. It captures the feeling of developing a brand new crush. The standout lyric here is, “You’re doing it fine / I’ll tell you when I get there, get there.” Everyone knows that communication is the key to good sex, especially with a new partner.
In a recent New York Times interview, De Souza shared that “Not Afraid” was written in a mere ten minutes, and you would absolutely never be able to tell. This gorgeous track reads like a therapy session. De Souza sets the hard questions to experimental pop, fulfilling her longtime ambition to create “pop songs with meaning and feeling, pop songs with lyrics that tap into raw humanity.” Kosta Galanopoulos delivered an expressive drum performance on this track, complete with rim shots and tight hi-hat work. “What, what does it look like / when you are free? / When are you being true?”: These are classic therapy questions used to help us imagine our ideal selves and create the path to get there.
What makes De Souza’s voice so impactful is how much emotion she can convey without being over-the-top, as displayed on “Be Like The Water.” This song explores the fluid nature of life, and the freedom that comes with going with the flow. Certain aspects of the instrumentation and vocal melodies towards the end call to mind Coldplay and older Tegan and Sara (what a combination!). Standout lyrics here are, “I don’t know what comes next / So what? / I can make it up as I go / I can lead with my heart / What am I doing here anyway / When my spirit is not?” It’s tempting to have it all figured out, but when does life ever really go that way? It’s so important to be in touch with ourselves and our values so we can live in line with them regardless of circumstance.
“Heartthrob” kicks the energy back up with a true pop-rock vibe. This high-octane jam is “a big f*ck you to the abusers of the world. A sarcastic, angry cry for all bodies that have ever been touched in harmful ways.” Again, De Souza’s simple melodies don’t take away from the impact of the song. Her voice conveys pain and rage, all set to an incredibly fun chugging rhythm: “He really tricked me / I let him touch me where he wanted / Didn’t know the difference / Between loving and haunting.” This is an all too familiar story for anyone who’s lived through any kind of abusive or predatory relationship.
Moving into the second half of Precipice, we have “Dinner,” a lyrical highlight. This dark, emotional track cuts deep. It’s short and bittersweet in that its sadness is so relatable. The piano anchors the song, adorned with the atmospheric synthesizers that have been so central to Precipice so far. It’s hard to come up with words to describe this song; you just have to feel it, and keep tissues nearby. These lyrics capture the human experience in a sharp, beautiful nutshell: “Walking through the world / Making hard decisions / Giving with all I got / Hurting like no one’s business” and “Is there anything better than just knowing that you’re safe? / Feeling love surround you / and just falling into place.”
Picking up the pace again, “Clean It Up” opens with a clean, finger-plucked guitar interwoven with De Souza’s pretty voice crooning a tastefully auto-tuned melody. It seems to be about the surprising anxiety of confronting your own messiness before you can love someone well. Or rather, when you realize you have more work to do on yourself than you thought. While accurately embodying this daunting feeling, De Souza’s sonic choices also carry the soft tingle of hope and possibility in every bar. No one comes to the table with all their shit together. The love is in the choice to keep showing up and cleaning it up together.
“Heartbreaker” is a standout track. It’s brimming with country-folk charm and rustic Americana allure. Maddie Schuler performs a captivating, airy lap steel in this classic lovesick power ballad, and that brassy piano is the glue pulling it all together. “They all say that time’s gonna take you away / I’ll turn and I’ll wave”: it hurts like hell to say goodbye at first, and then it stops hurting, and then it feels incredible when you finally manage to heal.
Returning to synth-pop sensibilities, “Pass It By” illustrates the struggle to move through grief and stare down the barrel of the unknown. There’s this saturated crashing sound in the chorus that adds depth to the mix. De Souza leans back into chirpy, futuristic synths, giving an outer-space adventure vibe to this track. “I’m smaller when I’m learning things or feel misunderstood”: this line is so relatable, and it takes a brave person to admit this and lean into the vulnerability rather than harden against it.
The title track boasts the quirkiest intro and instrumentation on the record. I couldn’t nail down the time signature until the second verse, but once it falls into place and pick up, it’s stunning. The rolling drums, dark piano mix, and cinematic feel of the ending draw out the rich exhale of surrender to change. The standout lyrics, “Only one / Carrying everything / Uncomfortable in the sun / Stubborn and clinging on,” seem to say that evolving through change is a completely individual journey, each of our respective responsibility. It can hurt to expose our darkness to the light.
Precipice is a bold, fearless, soft and victorious foray into pop for Indigo De Souza. Her unwavering honesty and panoramic creativity will continue to win the hearts of listeners as she continues to answer the call of the void and leap into the next season of life.
Precipice is available to stream wherever you listen to music.
Keep up with Indigo De Souza: Instagram // Spotify // X // TikTok // YouTube // Website
