Helaine Vis – Pretty Cliché CD (Springstoff)

You probably know by now that Springstoff is a versatile record label that handles every possible genre you can think of at the moment. They carry everything from jazz to post-rock, from dub to pop, from experimental avant-garde to some electronic music. The most impressive thing about this record label is that everything sounds good. At least, that’s the impression I got while rumbling through the batch they sent to me for review. There’s something for everyone, so you should check out their roster and web store. After such a lengthy introduction, you probably assume that I will talk about another artist from their vast catalog, and you’re not far from the truth. It’s time for some ear-appealing indie pop music.

Today, I would like to talk about Pretty Cliché, a debut full-length release by Polish singer-songwriter Helaine Vis. Pretty Cliché serves as a comprehensive collection of stories, memoirs, and thoughts distilled into calmy, relaxing, soothing, cathartic indie-pop songs. Helaine’s compositions are about many topics but mostly deal with her struggle with anxiety, depression, love, loss, and other similar themes that struck her generation. Of course, these topics need a particular sonic background so they can resonate in such a distinctive manner. Therefore, Helaine’s songs burst with melancholy, sadness, and seriousness, but they also sound soulful, emotional, revitalizing, and healing. Her compositions motivate the listeners to keep forward and overcome all the obstacles in their lives.

Soundwise, Helaine Vis primarily explores indie pop, but you’ll notice other genres lurking around along the way. Perhaps styles like shoegaze, dream pop, and electronica come to mind instantly, but you may also stumble upon the dosage of cinematic, classic ambient, and avant-pop. At some points, her music slightly resembles something renowned acts like Emma Ruth Rundle, Chelsea Wolfe, Adele, or Marissa Nadler would eventually record. You’ll immediately hear the resemblance between Helaine Vis and Emma Ruth Rundle’s singing technics, but music-wise their sound is one different side of the spectrum. Also, you will hear a strong presence of RnB, soul, and classic pop, but Helaine cleverly incorporates these elements while singing. Somehow it affects the entire listening experience, and it goes marvelously with overall ambiances, soundscapes, orchestrations and articulations. There’s no doubt many music genres inspired this creative singer-songwriter to compile a debut worth listening to repetitiously. Pretty Cliché by Helaine Vis is avalable on compact disc via Springstoff. Head over to their website for more intormation about ordering.