Let’s get one thing straight: “Earendel” is much closer to a philosophy lesson in an echo chamber than it is to the next playlist filler for a rainy day. Janeuary has found a way to whisper, “you’ll never escape your past,” and somehow make it feel comforting. And confusingly cathartic. This EP isn’t merely about embracing melancholy — heavens no — it’s about staring at it until it blinks first.
The first song on the EP “Earendel”, Janeuary navigates emotional landscapes like a seasoned cartographer who has intentionally thrown away the map. The opener, also called “Earendel”, doesn’t just sample vulnerability, it lays out resilience and torn emotions as delicately as sewing thread through a needle’s eye. There’s this weirdly regal tug-of-war with the “King of Hearts” and “Queen of Souls,” which sounds more like a chess match at first, but evolves into something messier, like finger-painting emotion in the middle of a storm. They heal, sure, but only after a few emotional bruises.
Then there’s “Viens avec moi”, where Janeuary introduces us to the giant “black wall.” It’s less Pink Floyd and more “stopped receiving your texts five days ago anxiety.” The beats? They breathe slow, cautious inhales while the listener suffocates in the unspoken emotions lingering underneath. It’s clear: Janeuary isn’t here to hold our hand and guide us out. She prefers to let the listener trip over emotional baggage—and find their own way through the fog.
One other single on the Ep that caught my eye is “Part of me”, which we get a softer approach. The sweet ache of losing someone but never quite letting go. There’s light in the sadness, like one of those Renaissance paintings where sorrow sits right next to some poorly lit fruit. The electronic hums here are almost deceitfully happy, but the lyrics betray that, twisting the sound into something reflective, haunting.
Manila folders filled with emotional content like this sometimes make birthdays feel like funerals with the EP having six songs in total.
“Earendel” asks the question, “What’s left after we’re done healing?” That, my dear reader, is where it gets complicated.
Maybe, perhaps, that’s the point.
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