J.M3 : Beautiful Monsters
J.M3’s Beautiful Monsters is dark alt-pop that, frankly, sounds like trailer music for an edgy superhero movie (à la Suicide Squad). Nevertheless, it is one of the more memorable and enjoyable pop tracks to come out of Singapore in recent memory, with its sparse keys and snares tastefully complementing its chopped and pitch-shifted vocal samples. Combined with driving bass pads, the track builds up and races to the finish line, and thankfully, its production is tastefully minimalistic for the most part, which allows for its small embellishments to stand out a little more. Lyrically, however, Beautiful Monsters isn’t the strongest. Despite supposedly exploring themes of facades and inward self-acceptance, it does sometimes feel like J.M3 falls flat of the Melanie Martinez-esque vibe she seems to be steering the track towards (“It's a playground, call Pandora/ Who's afraid now, there's the door ya/ Wanna find out, the real me/ Masquerade ball, who's it for ya”). All in all, Beautiful Monsters stands on the better side when it comes to Singaporean pop singles as of late, but it only seems to be a stepping stone for J.M3, as she continues to refine her sound.