Issue 8 – SINGLES REVIEWS: Woman on Your Screen, Emma Hampton

I wrote this song after seeing a beautiful woman on TikTok in a gorgeous, seductive red dress and thinking, ‘Wow, I’ll never be her.

      As someone with OCD, this song feels like those intrusive thoughts are taking the microphone and saying, ‘You can be stable, you can be loved, but if you’re not sexy, then what’s the point?’ When I sing this song live, a lot of women relate to it on different levels – whether it’s about their relationship to their partners, or their idea of how the patriarchy sees them.’

      To me, listening to Woman on your Screen is a charming pause; it reminds me of gazing at a snow globe, every snowdrop falling at its own pace, spiralling, floating, gliding till it settles. Hampton is a chanteuse, reminiscent of 50s and 60s icons like Julie London, Helen Merril, and the wonderful Ella Fitzgerald. These are formidable artists denied their true female subjectivity because they were given songs to sing. Hampton’s songwriting is authentic to her experience, and the lo-fi self-production is a fragile thing of loveliness – I am so bored with Logic stealing the show and making everyone sound the same. 

      ‘I produced this song by myself, using my phone’s microphone and a very helpful video on how to mix poor-quality recordings,’ she explains to me.  ‘It turned out amazing, and I learned a lot about how to make the most of what I’ve got!’

(NR) 

What do you think? Do you want a review? Contact buzz@acm.ac.uk

Woman On Your Screen