Circe oozes style with the cinematic and atmospheric dark pop of “Ten Girls”

Dark and grungy yet tinged with a dreamy pastel pink glow, “Ten Girls” - the new release by London based artist Circe - is an atmospheric track that practically oozes style. Having drawn inspiration from dark-pop icons including Bjork, Grimes and FKA Twigs, there is a familiar sense of melancholia, textural bassiness and ethereal vocal raspiness.

However, Circe delves further boasting an additional sheen of cinematic scoring that draws on our current cultural fascination with the fluorescent world of eighties sci-fi movies. In addition to this filmic sound, there is an eerie dystopian inflection to “Ten Girls” that is born out of literary influence.

As Circe herself explains, “‘Ten Girls’ was inspired by Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale; ‘There are ten marks on this cross’- a poetic but disturbing view of women living in a dystopian oppressive world. This chimes with my own fractured generation of cancel culture, swipes of sex, and revenge porn”.

“Ten Girls” exhibits an exciting and progressive aesthetic, potent in its affinity with the the #metoo generation and bold in its attempt to look beyond cynicism of the past. Despite the harrowing dystopianism of this moment, in “Ten Girls” Circe yearns to highlight the hope in eclecticism and the joy of being unique. It is a war cry to all womxn and a plea for them to stand together, defiant in the face of adversity.