Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of great pop music out there. But a lot of modern pop music I hear on social media and the radio is bland, repetitive and uninteresting to me. After I finished listening to Slayyyter’s newest album, “WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA,” that changed.
I had no clue who Slayyyter was before I heard her song “CRANK” on Twitter earlier this year. After looking more into her, she didn’t really interest me. I thought that she was another one of those random artists that gets big on a super niche area of the internet.
I guess that interacting with her account meant that I would get bombarded with a plethora of tweets from Slayyyter stan accounts that were ready for “WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA” to be the so-called “album of the year.”
It wasn’t until I heard “CANNIBALISM!” that I understood the hype. I was immediately captivated by Slayyyter’s melodic voice and the catchy beat of the song. It was way different from the snippets of “CRANK” I had heard before, which seemed like just Slayyyter screaming a bunch of nonsense into the mic paired with heavy autotune and a bass-boosted instrumental.
Before the release of the album, Slayyyter released the first 5 tracks as singles over the course of a few months. Those included “DANCE…,” “BEAT UP CHANEL$,” “CANNIBALISM!,” “OLD TECHNOLOGY” and “CRANK.” After listening to all five, it’s safe to say that I was highly impressed. All the songs were hyped up, loud and undeniably catchy.
Upon first impressions, the album exceeded my expectations. The 14 tracks on the album, including one interlude-type track at the end, were unique, catchy, and a perfect balance of melodic sounds and loud beats. The album was ordered perfectly so that the vibe of each song contrasted with that of the previous one, which made the album all the more interesting to me. The album opens with “DANCE…,” a gritty, late-night pop song that feels like being in the center of a crowded nightclub. As Slayyyter closes the song with her vocals over the beat, the vibe instantly takes a turn with the start of ‘BEAT UP CHANEL$,” a loud, anthemic song in which Slayyyter yells over a loud bass and electric guitar combo with an autotuned voice. The switch felt like whiplash to me in the most captivating way possible.
Some songs on the album have a more melodic, ballad-like vibe to them with deep lyrics and storytelling throughout. Slayyyter touches on personal, emotional experiences with family and depression with lyrics like “is my face too disgusting for an open casket” on “BRITTANY MURPHY” and “I would do anything to put a smile on your face, to make a home a nice place” on “GAS STATION.” A lot of these songs had beautifully arranged bridges to end them off, which I found to be a great touch to an already outstanding album. Upon first listen, you wouldn’t really expect such hyped up songs to have such meaningful lyrics behind them. I found that Slayyyter’s way of expressing her experiences through lyrics instead of the sound of the song made them even more impactful and added to the overall energy of the album.
On the other side of things, the album also showcases Slayyyter’s anthemic approach to pop music and how she isn’t afraid to lean towards a more energetic and loud style. Songs like “YES GODDD” and “I’M ACTUALLY KINDA FAMOUS” start low and intimidating, then evolve into amped up beats with Slayyyter screaming her lungs out for all to hear. Songs like “CRANK” and “OLD TECHNOLOGY” gave me a “hastily stomping down a runway in 6 inch platform boots” kind of vibe that I really enjoyed. The balance between the louder and anthemic songs and the more emotional ones in between made Slayyyter’s album all the more captivating and enjoyable for me.
“WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA” was a very visual-heavy project. Each track on the album had its own music video, showcasing Slayyyter’s creativity and the vibe she had in mind for the album. On the marketing side, she did not hesitate to make a statement. From selling translucent vinyls with dirt inside of them to giving away a Chanel ankle monitor bag with her signature on it, Slayyyter’s approach to the marketing of her album was very different from the promotions I have seen before. The efforts in making the album a unique and creative experience for those indulging were very clear to me throughout all the work put into it.
As someone very into the hyperpop scene, I always look for new artists to listen to that carry that genre in their music. In a time where generic pop music has taken over, the energy that Slayyyter’s album delivered made it a perfect fit for my taste. I’ve been seeking something that boosts my energy, and “WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA” did just that.
Overall, I really enjoyed Slayyyter’s album. I found that “WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA” was the perfect introduction to Slayyyter for me, and I can definitely see myself coming back to listen to it. For anybody into eardrum-crushing music, I would totally recommend listening to it. And even if you aren’t into the sort, I’d still give it a try just to see what you could be missing out on. For being the “WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA,” Slayyyter sure knows how to make a hit song.
