In April, singer Daniella Mason dazzled an at-capacity High Watt with sparkling pop hooks and a laser light show worthy of most dubstep headliners. That show, which also featured local singers EZA and Jessie Early, represented a flag planted in the ground in the name of made-in-Nashville pop bangers and an implicit promise that the local pop scene is ready to make big moves.
Mason followed up on that promise earlier this month with the release of her self-titled debut, released Oct. 13 through AYA Records and Tone Tree Music. The record is short and sweet, an eight-song, 26-minute gleaming pop gem that celebrates the artistic clarity of a songwriter confident in her turn toward synthesized grooves.
That confidence is perhaps best shown in “Butterflies,” a woozy dance number that acts as a stylish mission statement for the record. On it, Mason flirts with alt-pop synth stabs and breezy rhythms, culminating in a chorus that breathlessly relates the feeling of seeing someone you love for the first time in months. Like much of Mason’s debut, it sounds and feels effortless.
Over the course of the record, Mason drifts between indie and bubblegum sounds, never settling into the familiar formula of modern pop music. Part of her ability to pull that off comes from Nashville’s shapeshifting pop identity (a factor also cited by locals like R.LUM.R and Whissell). There’s something about this city’s scene that can’t quite be pinned down into a group of tropes, like Los Angeles’s retro G-funk or Atlanta’s trap sound. That makes conditions perfect for artists like Mason to try new things with impunity.
At the heart of Mason’s debut is a strong sense of self that translates into well-articulated songwriting. Songs like “Meant to Be” and “Nightshapes” are deceptive in their simplicity, offering sleek but minimal production to let her voice shine over drum loops and swelling electronics. She has a knack for getting to the emotional core of the song quickly and conducting the sounds around her to support that core.
“Cruel Summer” and “Tell Me It’s Over,” the album’s biggest bangers and two of its four pre-release singles, are Mason at her very best, telling simple stories that resonate quickly and universally. “Cruel Summer” is a recollection of loneliness, in which flashes of ’80s-inspired production shine around the edges to illuminate a quiet sadness at the heart of the song. “Tell Me It’s Over,” meanwhile, untangles the stomach knots of impending rejection by demanding the truth outright — an attitude that pushes both the narrative and the production forward into a boiled-over catharsis in the chorus.
The record wraps with “Cover the Earth,” a piano-driven anthem in which Mason sings: “Let the spirit rise up / Break through the walls / And beat down the doors / And crash through the windows / And cover the earth / The earth / The earth.” That last line echoes, repeating until it fades into nothingness. It’s not just a salient metaphor for Mason’s career, but a clear-headed feeling that maps directly onto pop’s increasingly expansive presence in Nashville.
On Wednesday, Mason will take the stage in Music City for the first time since her High Watt blowout. Even if she doesn’t have a Skrillex-level light show this time, there will be fireworks when she takes the mic.
Email music@nashvillescene.com
