The new single by Exzenya, “Ugly When You Love Me”, is an electronic, cold, and beautifully intense song. The production begins in the opening seconds as cumulative, black swirls of production. The whole song is propelled by a calm, solemn electronic pulse that is making it smooth, purposeful, and threateningly danceable.
The synths sash and scald under the skin, and the percussion ticks like the lightning, which is controlled. The tension grows progressively with every verse. The high voice of Exzenya, which is eccentric, is lifted into air amid the storm and her vibrato shakes with feeling and dramatic quality. All the lines of her singing are like a line that is being traced and retraced.
The production remains lean and purposive. All the sounds, the throbbing bass, the ice-cutting synths, the clean percussion, all have a purpose. Exzenya sings with a clean cut that is not autotuned and full of unneeded effects. It is pure voice, brought to a near surgical degree.
Ugly When You Love Me explores a darker side of the human psyche when it comes to love: love becomes possessive and love becomes poisonous. The song is about the time when you realize that manipulation is what it is all. It is both a cinematic and intimate track, one that combines a smooth electronic production with emotional release.
The single, which comes out via Exzenya Productions, still demonstrates why the Oregon-based artist is one of the most interesting ones of the year. Having the professional background in psychology, conflict resolution and behavior analysis, Exzenya turns human complexity into sound and the outcome will always be something impressive, unpredictable, and memorable.
