Lulu Simon - Muscle Memory EP
Lulu Simon
Releases her new EP Muscle Memory
Lulu Simon’s new EP Muscle Memory has such a cohesive sound and serves as a testament to the ever-growing popularity of indie pop. This five-song collection is so fluid sounding and despite each track sounding different from the next, Lulu has an innate ability to connect her songs with lyrical and sonic keyframes that are familiar to listeners but incredibly unique.
The whimsical EP opens with “All In”. Lulu Simon kicks “Muscle Memory” off with a heavily pop-influenced song. It’s catchy, upbeat, and really perfect for dancing and jamming out. Lulu created the dream itinerary for a night out with her friends listing off parties and bars to hop from one to the next. This is a really exciting and fun song that feels as if “Late Night Talking” by Harry Styles was a Carly Rae Jepsen song.
The pace of the EP slows down a lot with “Something”—a soft lullaby with funky bass riffs sprinkled throughout that was one of the singles on this release. Lulu details the limbo state of a situationship and claims “if we’re something, at least we’re not nothing at all”. The emotions on “Muscle Memory” run high with thematic elements of troubling relationships hinted at in most songs, seen again with “Driftwood”. Lulu reminisces about what once was in a relationship on this track. Each song on the EP is complimented with her soft and wispy vocals, and “Driftwood” features some extra whimsy opening with acoustic guitars that eventually shift into a dreamier coastal guitar sound.
The fourth track on this release is “Already the End”, which, somewhat surprisingly, isn’t the end of the EP. This song was the highlight of “Muscle Memory” for me. A sobering acoustic track with brilliantly honest lyrics like “I guess I’m not mature enough to wish you well” accompanied by beautiful vocal harmonizing and a low vibrato that feels comforting yet incredibly raw, this song feels like a conversation Lulu has been wanting to have with a former love. It is such an authentic track that cannot be complimented enough.
Lulu closes out the EP with “Being Alone is the Best”, which was also released earlier this year as a single. The indie sound really shines bright on this song with even more of Lulu’s beautiful harmonization and capturing her feelings of loneliness and isolation in Los Angeles. Compared to the rest of the EP, this track feels more indie folk-inspired in comparison to the indie pop influences.
Lulu Simon is a very promising artist for the indie scene. Her sound is incredibly and totally hers and the strengths of this EP are impressively solid. If you’re a fan of Carly Rae Jepsen, Rebecca Black, Olivia Rodrigo, or Maggie Rogers, you will fall in love with Lulu Simon.
Listen to Muscle Memory here!
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/1nahgznEUCBVOtvCc9eYMi?si=DoMn1SDRSmaaLtdIJ9MguA
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/muscle-memory-ep/1643224716