It brings me joy always to hear a good, inventive rock songs with creative arrangements being released in an era of churning out quick hooks catering to goldfish attention spans. “Misjudged“, the latest single by LA based independent artist, singer, and songwriter Safiya Sayyed, is such a song with creative songwriting.
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Hailing from Pune, India, the Los Angeles musician studied vocal performance at the Los Angeles College of Music. Influenced from childhood by artists like Michael Jackson, A. R. Rahman, Led Zeppelin, Queen, and Avril Lavigne, she embraces both Indian and Western musical ideas. She is also the co-founder and host of “Live from Studio 201,” a live show platform spotlighting emerging LA artists.
The song begins with eastern wind instruments, then percussion which catapults into some guitar riffs and rock drums. The arrangement throws in an organ during the bridge and a cool guitar solo for a subtle prog-rock lift. The riffs and core songwriting are really good. What I loved here is the song structure. It’s a nice hard rock/alt rock song, and the bridge is very creatively composed with elements of progressive rock and Indian fusion. Safiya Sayyed clearly is a songsmith.
Lyrically, the song tackles the story of a misunderstood queen. It is a metaphor for anyone who’s ever been judged without being known or had their good intentions questioned. The cover art, with a queen in front of the Taj Mahal, goes hand in hand with this theme. There are flashes of Avenged Sevenfold in the riffing, but overall, it’s got her own voice and perspective. Despite the rough production, this is a brilliant song. Solid creative songwriting, a unique blend of influences, and memorable vocal performance. Safiya Sayyed with “Misjudged” makes it clear she’s got ideas and a musical vision that deserve attention.
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