stevie spun a sticky sweet with existential pain earworm from her debut single, Too Good for You (Halloween) –

Lola Young proved the appetite for razor-sharp pop hooks and lyricism that digs into the messiness of the emotional human experience, and alt indie pop singer songwriter stevie proves she is more than ready to sate it with her debut single, Too Good for You (Halloween).

After a quiescent intro which teases a Boy Genius-esque stylistically morose atmosphere into the confessional release, the energy starts to build, constructing the anatomy of a sticky sweet with existential pain earworm which thrives on its own contrasts between self-flagellation and epiphanies of resistance against those who drag you down before chastising you for being in the gutter they placed you in.

As the progressions carry you through the expansively styled track, stevie throws in echoes of a myriad of heart-string twanging artists, everyone from Grandaddy to icons of the Midwest emo scene, while never putting her debut in danger of being anything but the perfect indie pop earworm to dig into every time your fortitude falters. The way the choruses swell feels tailor-made for pensive indie kids who write drafts in their notes app they will never send, and the Halloween hue grounds the release in an imagery that’s hard to shake after the outro.

Before stepping into the spotlight with Too Good for You (Halloween), stevie spent years lurking in the shadows of the industry, playing piano in orchestras and jazz bands, engineering records, producing, and quietly shaping projects from publishing and A&R corners. From a cold English beach to time spent in New York and London, she stockpiled tragedy, loss, resilience and new love, then knotted it all into this alt indie pop therapy session.

Too Good for You (Halloween) is now available on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast