Cathy Jain makes existentialism sound euphoric in "UFO"

On her debut EP artificial, Cathy kept it real; speaking to her own experiences and the universal learnings she’d gone through as a teenager coming of age during a global pandemic.

Introspective, escapist, and dreamy, it established her characteristic brand of bedroom-pop as a sonically silky but above all sincere exploration of real-life through a rosy, synthy lens. Tackling topics like social media, impostor syndrome, and dating – though never too on-the-nose about it – artificial serves as a time capsule of the narrative ethos Jain is writing in.

On “UFO”, though, this narrative is stepped up – this one’s about an alien invasion, and yet it still feels gorgeously relatable. Using metaphors of apocalyptic destruction to weave a story of real-life let-downs, Jain effortlessly evokes her feelings of disappointment, as well as an indulgent self-awareness that allows her to luxuriate instead of wallow in the magnitude of her metaphorical reimaginings. Her velvety production is as slick as it is laidback, leaning into its lush groove and complementing Jains ethereally murmured vocals perfectly.

“You know when you’re with someone and you think they’re someone they’re not?” Jain explains of UFO’s storyline, “and then, in the end, they betray you, and you realise they’re not going to be there for you? It’s made into this big, apocalyptic alien invasion story. It’s quite dramatic, really,” she laughs. “It’s supposed to be quite animated!”

Such starry soundscapes have been Jain’s usual MO throughout her releases so far, but they remain just as striking. Currently in the midst of sitting her A levels, the musical world that Jain constructs sparkles even more, as do her newly stratospheric lyrical explorations – worlds apart from the day-to-day.

“As soon as I'm done with my maths, I go into my songwriting,” Jain joked with BEST FIT in a feature last year. “The songs coming out for the next EP are a huge step up, and I'm in love with them. The whole concept is about exploration. It's literally about space, and aliens, and all that. So it's very literally about exploring, and that's very much new.”