Tatyana - It's Over (Black Ice Vinyl)

Don't come closer, because I might hurt you boy / You don't deserve it, I treat you like a toy." So sings 28-year-old South East London musician Tatyana on "It's Over", a sad and squelchy electro-leaning earworm about desire, loss and grey-area relationships. Much of second album It's Over is like this: bright, weird, danceable electronics paired with lyrics about frustration, anger and confusion. This notion of 'dancing through the pain' is a dichotomy that Tatyana leans into regularly. It's part of her personality: "I think people are afraid of being hurt and I'm the opposite," she says, simply. "I'm like, hurt me, because that's where real life happens. You can never protect yourself from everything." If you've heard Tatyana's name before, it's probably because she released a debut album back in 2022, Treat Me Right, co-produced with Metronomy's Joe Mount. Looking back, Tatyana describes this debut record as more of a collaboration, as opposed to a full portrait of herself as an artist. For It's Over, Tatyana took control of every aspect of the album's creation, from the production (she co-produced alongside Mikko Gordon) to the artwork and the specific technology she used throughout (KORG plug-ins, like one of her favourite artists Maurice Fulton, and Elektron synths, like The Knife). "The first record I made was a very different process. I didn't have the confidence to produce a record on my own," she says today. "This record made me technically proficient because I really pushed myself. I figured out a lot of things that I didn't know before. In the past, I made every mistake. I allowed others to lead the charge and I'm not doing that any more." Primarily written and produced over the summer of '23, It's Over follows the loose trajectory of a not-quite-relationship from the year before, and the push-pull emotions that came with it. But, more than that, it's an album about modern dating, alienation and the shadowy confines of existing online. Even the album name, It's Over, is itself a nod to the popular meme (It's over, we're back!). Internet language permeates this record in the same way it permeates our intimate lives (on first single "Down Bad", a chest-thumping, clattering dance track, she sings lightly, "I wish I could delete these feelings, I wish I didn't need to see ya") "The language [of the album] is how I speak to my friends. It's so part of my intimate personal relationships," Tatyana explains. "I feel like we're in a really dark time and a lot of that is to do with how being online numbs our ability to be intimate with each other... We're using all these terms that are stand-ins for real emotion. You're not actually expressing yourself; you're just using a placeholder." Elsewhere, on album opener "Bird of Prey", a bombastic, twisty dance track spliced with funky bass slaps and unexpected electro claps, Tatyana sings about repeating the same old romantic patterns, but trying hard to do something different. "I've been down this road before, and it never changes," she sings, her voice syrupy and casual over the crisp beat, "Fly away, you don't belong with me."