Renon turned pop into a dark art with her trip-hop tinged triumph, ‘Priotities’ –

That intrinsically affecting mesmerism that locks you into the aura of Massive Attack and Portishead has been reincarnated within Renon’s seminal LP, ‘(WAY) TOO FAR’. The closing single, Priorities, alchemises pop into a dark art. With Trip-hop-heavy verses and sticky-sweet choruses, where the playful ingenuity of Renon shines through to a blinding degree, and a descent into glitched-out industrial-tinged alt-electronica to serve as the outro, there are few tracks that will give you more uninhibited talent to devour.

Anyone who grew up devouring the pop charts in the 00s will recognise a few Y2K elements thrown into the mix around her ethereally magnetic pop harmonies, but Renon dressed them up almost beyond recognition; they’re donning the guise of her soul as she explores all the ways we sacrifice ourselves by stretching too thin, often for the benefit of others. As a promise to herself, Priorities resounds with resonance.

As a trained jazz musician turned popstar, the Montreal-based artist has cultivated a sound soaked in gothic flair, camp theatrics, and synth-heavy arrangements stitched together with jazzy inflections and razor-sharp vocal control. After stealing attention on stages across London, Toronto, and Montreal, including two acclaimed Osheaga sets, she’s fully owning her rise with her concept LP that spirals from party-girl euphoria into bleak confession. Across her growing discography, there’s no mask, only mythmaking.

Priorities is now available on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast