11 August 2023 Reviews
Chandra is back with a new single entitled ‘Pretty’. The track is a rhythmic ballad with a punky edge. Crunchy electric guitars, laid back drums and a dynamic bass line come together to support Chandra’s vocal performance, riding the line between speech and singing.
The lyrics dive into self-love, re-defining pretty as just being yourself, instead of conforming to what people tell you to be. You can tell this is a topic that the artist has a deep connection with as his performance is evocative and passionate throughout. ‘Pretty’ is a feel-good anthem, encouraging all its listeners to have more self acceptance, whilst still having a great melody and awesome instrumentation. If you’re a fan of emotional tracks with a little bit of grit, this new track is perfect for you.
On the new release, Chandra shares:
“We should all strive to create a world where we can simply be ourselves without prejudice. For me this stems all the way back to being a mixed race kid in school, being called racist slurs on a daily basis, through to being a teenager in a band, wearing eyeliner and having colour in my spiky hair (I felt like Camden Town was the only place in the country I didn't get stared at in disgust). Certainly my particular experience shows that we've progressed but we've still got a very long way to go. It's not about accepting any one particular 'thing' (be that spiky hair, a disability or how you identify); it's about challenging yourself to be more accepting of anything at all that you don't find 'pretty' and that you deem to be 'different'... even if you find it uncomfortable. Otherwise we'll never grow as a society.”