I read somewhere that hope raised Gen X, while the world’s crisis shaped Gen Z. ‘Birthday Cake’ by a Massachusetts-based sixteen-year-old, Ava Valianti, mirrors the annihilation of hope in her generation. Her songwriting expresses dismay at a day that society means to celebrate. It is a personal void that young Valianti sings about, or is it the vacuum created by a monstrous system of greed that puts all its effort against social anarchy? Ava’s ‘Birthday Cake’ calls out one’s intimate distress, reflecting a world gone wrong.
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The first 14 seconds of the song have a singing-under-the-water-mermaid-like effect. Feels as if the song begins with a ‘drowning in emotions’ synonym. In a very poignant manner, Ava evokes pain in every line of her poetry. Her voice is the protagonist, wrapped up in the blanket of longing, loneliness, and pain. Lyrically, ‘Birthday Cake’ is heart-wrenching, especially the line, “All these sweat and tears I’ve bled. Every year gets blown away with just one breath”. Musically, the track is very fresh, with the layers of sound accentuating the vocals. The production is immaculate and feels like a top-of-the-charts kinda number.
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Shaping such intense ache into an art that celebrates that intensity is not easy. Ava Valianti’s sheer creativity and passion are obvious, and so is her compassion for her life. Her songs, though, portray heavy moments, yet feel very alive and make your heart swell. Listen to her latest song now streaming on all major platforms, and follow her on Instagram for more updates on her next releases.
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