Those who are detached from the mainstream world may immediately have a knee-jerk reaction that all modern Pop music is trash. A statement could offend a good deal of fans of artists like Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, or whoever is peaking at this time. The truth is that not everything is as it seems, nor is there as little substance as one might think. Sure, there is a good deal of ‘Pop Trash’ out there, but this is not to say there are also artists floating around the stratosphere with a bit more weight to their music than the average modern Pop star.
A lesson in having an open mind before making broad statements: one such artist you could dig into with more substance is Nessa Barrett. At first, after gaining attention via the social media platform TikTok when she was only seventeen years old, her talents immediately struck the interest of labels, with Warner Records scouting her for a record deal. From here, she immediately went to work on original music and has amassed multi-billions of streams since 2020.
Extremely impressive, what stands out about Barrett is the depth of her songs, which is more rooted in traditional singer-songwriting ascetic than some shiny, trendy form of modern music. This was evident with her debut 2020 single, “Pain,” which was free of any studio tricks and displayed just Barrett’s voice and piano. From here, she continued to show off a darker brand of Pop Rock with songs like 2021’s “i hope ur miserable until ur dead” or the heartbreaking “Lie” from 2023.
Building up to her impressive 2022 debut album, Young Forever, it became apparent that Barrett was fearlessly displaying her own inadequacies and observations in her music, and it certainly caught your ear. In short, people yearn for authenticity, and even before turning twenty years old, it was evident Barrett had this intangible quality.
Earning a stronger following in the passing years, 2024 brought some changes for Barrett with songs like “Passenger Princess” and “Dirty Little Secret,” which dived into an even more Electro-Pop sound. These are a couple of tracks that lead up to the November 15, 2024, release of Barett’s sophomore album Aftercare, and let us just say the album is moodier than ever before. Certainly more electronic than her prior works, some may mistake the shift in Barrett’s sound for becoming more trendy, but after a closer look at the tracks that dress the album, it is clear to see the themes of these songs cut much more than skin deep.
Releasing an ambitious fifteen-track, running a little under forty-five minutes, just a couple of months later, Barrett returns with an amped-up edition called AFTERCARE DELUXE. Released on February 7, 2025, through Warner Records, the new release was preceded by a brand-new single that was not apparent in the initial release called “Love Looks Pretty On You.” More stripped back, this track shows off Barrett’s delicate voice with some haunting backing textures that make it a must-listen for fans of Dark Pop.
Beyond this, the AFTERCARE DELUXE release includes five more new songs, adding up to a massive twenty-one-track album. A lot of music to dissect; if you are familiar with the original release from 2024, standout songs would have to include the mesmerizing “Disco” (featuring Tommy Genesis) and the catchy “Pornstar,” which feels like it has double meanings,” and the almost Industrial Rock “S.L.U.T.,” which most certainly has two messages inside the lyrics. Then there are the tragic feelings of cuts like “Russian Roulette” and “Edward Scissorhands.”
Overall, Barrett seems very keen on pointing out the hypocrisies surrounding her. She also does not shy away from navigating her way through heartache, the hard lessons she has learned, and struggling with her own confidence. Very human, Barrett has been open about her own personal battles in life. She also has conquered many of these challenges through the therapeutical quality of music and belief in something more than the hollow images we are told represent happiness through social media feeds, film, and other music around us.
Some may say that there is a lot to see in a Pop record, but as stated, if you listen closely, you will see it too. With all this in mind, the songs on AFTERCARE DELUXE actually offer a really lovely contrast to the more electronic ones. For example, “Does God Cry?” is an absolutely stunning, mature track complete with piano and other atmospheric textures. This is while “Blue Valentine” is a little more driven but no less captivating, “Keep Your Eyes On Me Boy” is a tragic tell of what is mistaken for love, “American Beauty” goes right for the heart of shallow, glitzy culture, and “Breakfast In Bed” is a sorrowful tale of feeling paralyzed by love.
In the end, Nessa Barrett is a talented individual with an extremely bright future ahead of her. A proclamation that might be lost on some, considering that she has already found mass success, the point is that the sky is the limit for her. She can continue making music in the same vein she is now, or she can expand into something different if she wishes. At twenty-two years old, there are still so many more roads left to travel. Barrett can dabble more in Rock, R&B, or something else. Only time will tell what happens next, but it is urged that music fans of all types give AFTERCARE DELUXE a closer look because Cryptic Rock gives it 4 out of 5 stars.
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