Album Review

Pati Yang – Hold Your Horses EP

• 11th Sep 2012

Pati Yang is not as well known in the UK as she deserves to be. Not yet anyway, although if she continues to produce sparkling and atmospheric electro-pop like she does on her new Hold Your Horses EP that should soon change. Yang’s music is inspiring, combining exhilarating synths with a lovely crystal clear voice that powerfully portrays the emotion of her lyrics.

A native of Poland, Yang now lives between London and Los Angeles. During the past decade she has been involved in many projects as both a solo artist and as part of Children and The Free Association. She released her first solo album to much crucial acclaim in her native country at just eighteen years old. Her fifth solo album is due later this year.

The four track EP starts with the title track. Hold Your Horses builds from a short and foreboding organ intro which backs the initial vocal burst before the track explodes into electronic life. The drums beat and the synths throb but Yang’s lovely voice transcends a heavy mix in fine fashion. The second track, Darling, is a more straightforward fast paced piece of electro-pop. A throbbing bass line runs through the song as Yang pouts and expresses her longing passionately.

Revolution Baby starts with a spoken section as Yang tells of lost idealism in a song that seems much more political than her usual fare. “All the innocence of youth, kissed goodbye with so much joy and pride,” she comments with a real sense of regret at a missed opportunity for something better. A solid drum beat dominates as Yang’s mix of anthemic chants and spoken interludes make this an interesting, if maybe a little strange, track.

The closing Kiss It Better returns to more typical Pati Yang territory with a slower, almost trance like track. Vocally there is a clear expression of both pain and of longing and this is one that would not be out of place on the dance floor.

The four tracks on this EP are all slightly different and show Pati Yang’s talents as a writer and composer. Hold Your Horses is the song most likely to be heard on the radio, but Revolution Baby is the one that grows more and more on me every time I play it. Overall, it’s a very interesting collection of songs, all of which are sung quite beautifully by a very talented young woman.