A fleeting melodicism catches the rhythm behind NIK:11 as she wanders through a potent arrangement of beats in the first few seconds of her new single “Pillow Talk.” The lush backdrop is filtered through a firm smokescreen that makes all of the colors bleed into each other in a melting pot that is exceptionally easy on the ears. When NIK:11 is singing, the wild hip-thrusting and freewheeling dance energy takes a backseat to the engrossing lyricism she’s discharging so casually, and even when she’s showing off her direction of the beat and the rhythm for us on a visual level, there’s no breaking away from the hypnotic vocal luster that she’s imparting to as without ever batting an eye.
As we enter the chorus, the mix of the song ebbs a bit and clears a path for the percussion to blossom into a solid, consistent foundation. Rather than following a logical transition into the chorus by evening out the levels between the vocals and the drumming, NIK:11 turns us upside down and competes for our affections in a battle of the basslines that, on its own, would make this single a more than worthy acquisition for anyone who can appreciate ingenious pop stylization of the modern variety. I don’t think I’ve heard a song that is ready to shed the lead jacket of the old school and embrace a sound that is rooted in the future of musical composition as this one is recently.
When we reach the climactic breakdown in the final act of “Pillow Talk,” there’s an underlying mischievousness in NIK:11’s lyrical dexterity that starts to erode the familiar textures in the metallic grooves battling before us, and we become trapped in the suffocating glare of the song’s deeper narrative. NIK:11 represents a generation of artists who have been hungry to make their mark on this business for a long while now, and through nothing more than self-determination and old-fashioned grassroots promotions this developing scene is finally getting their season in the sun. From where I sit NIK:11 is at the forefront of this movement, leading the way with songs like this one that neither owe their persona to the predecessors of contemporary pop nor sacrifice tonality in favor of fitting in with the populist trends crowd.
Just like the grooves that infect the tempo with so much luster in “Pillow Talk,” you’ll probably find yourself powerless to resist the hard-hitting beats and rebellious harmonies of this single upon hearing its signature melody. NIK:11 has come a long way in the brief amount of time that she’s been on the indie music radar, and as we prepare to enter a brand new chapter in the storied history of pop music you can bet everything you’ve got that she’s going to be the subject of many a conversation moving forward. “Pillow Talk” proves that she has a limber skillset that can handle just about any arrangement regardless of difficulty or modulation, which is a quintessential attribute in the modern pop revolution we’re witnessing today.
Cleopatra Patel