New Music: Brynja Rán – Cherry

Fresh from an appearance at the prestigious Iceland Airwaves festival, Brynja Rán returns to the blog with Cherry.

Like previous single Unblurred Lines, the song also features on her Blurred album, but with its stripped-down production and Stax-like brass, it hits differently, and allows Rán to showcase her timeless R&B-driven vocals to their fullest, and most raw. That classic, mature aspect to her style is not surprising, as she has been refining her own blend of audiences with her take of soul, funk, and R&B since her first appearances in front of a live audience in her childhood.

Compared to Unblurred Lines, we get more overt references to the 60s antecedents of her vocal style, gritty and soulful, something that is lifted ever higher by the gospel-like backing vocals and that mournful, bluesy brass motifs.

Rán has been placed at the forefront of a new wave of emerging Icelandic artists; tracks like Cherry are an indicator that while she is already the real deal, she has a lot more to offer fans of sophisticated late-night alt-pop.

Unblurred is out now and streaming on all major music platforms, including SoundCloud, Apple Music, and Spotify. For all the latest artist news, as well as other listening options for her music, be sure to follow Brynja Rán on Instagram.