Listen: Pawws – “Sugar”

Following on from last year’s well-received debut single “Time To Say Goodbye / Slow Love”, North Londoner Pawws (aka Lucy Taylor) has released “Sugar”, the title track off her debut EP.

Despite the saccharine connotations, the track itself is far from a mere confection. Haunting synths flicker like shadows against Taylor’s voice, pleading like an addict for “something sweet…one last rush”. Her vocals themselves are, as usual, a standout: an alluring siren’s call floating somewhere above the melee of instrumentation that keeps the song earthbound.

Taylor’s is a sound that doesn’t quite know where it stands, trapped somewhere between feverish disco and something that might be found on a Kylie album, were the reigning queen of pop to take a darker, more demented turn. It’s all slightly off-kilter, embracing the necessary complexities to ride the high of the title, while never quite giving in to the low.

Paww’s debut EP Sugar is released June 16th via Best Fit Recordings on digital, CD and vinyl editions. For more information and to pre-order, head here.

As well as appearing on the Best Fit stage at this year’s The Great Escape, Eat Your Own Ears and Best Fit will present Pawws’ headline London show at The Lexington on May 12. Tickets are on sale now.