It’s commendable when an artist sparks the feeling of your heart lifting and lungs swelling with overwhelming joy, but to achieve this with each repeated play through is an undeniable gamechanger. Tiny isn’t just changing the game they’re creating a whole new one, with their enthralling EP You Will Be Mine, releasing independently. Overflowing with exhilarating and boldly demanding vocals, powerfully charged riffs and solos, and rhythms that sway from classic alt-rock to spectacular “theatre-rock”, London-based Tiny is “boldly unapologetic” with their elevated sound.
Inspired by monarchs of classic rock, such as Bjork, Prince and Lady Gaga, and incorporating their experience studying and performing in the theatre, alongside fellow singer Rachel Zegler, Tiny has spent the last year cultivating You Will Be Mine into an entrancing and unique representation of their musical prowess and the emotional turmoil they’ve battled through. From the heartbreak of ending a relationship in a Soho street to the infuriating struggles of being a queer mixed-race artist just wanting to exist in peace, Tiny has inserted their heart and fury into an EP that is for everyone to find catharsis and self-worth within its vulnerable lyrics and melodies.
I want the listener to feel immersed within this world in whatever way feels authentic to them. This is for all of you, as much as it is for me.
Straight away you know you’re in for a cathartic journey, the opener to ‘All Bad Things (Come To An End)’ a matter-of-fact monologue of Tiny begrudgingly accepting the end of a relationship whilst rightfully pointing out they’re asking for the bare minimum of respect. Gradual vocals and a sensuous guitar riff slide in, giving way to Tiny’s no-nonsense attitude, the song rising and falling in the lead up to a soulful, belting vocal run that melds with a slick guitar solo, running smoother than honey.
‘And That’s Okay’ loads in with a crispy drum beat and thrumming guitar solo, dropping to Tiny’s luxurious vocals that weave between major and minor notes, before a fuzzed effect layers over their voice as they sings from a tone of acceptance and false indifference, “I know you’ll never love me, you’ll never need me, and that’s okay”. Written after a night out where a friend ditched them and they came to the realisation not every friendship will be equal, regardless of the effort put into it, Tiny perfectly translates that betrayal into a hauntingly powerful track that rises in key.
Unsettling and distorted layered vocals lead into an unrestrained piano hook on ‘Back To Life’, before Tiny’s deepened voice and guitar chords join in before rising in octave as they begs the subject “don’t leave me here to die, cos I need you by my side”. The track builds to a crescendo in an organised maelstrom of instruments and emotions before stripping back to piano and Tiny humming woefully, the song feeling like the sensation of falling to pieces asking someone to care and the having to give up the fight for your own sanity.
Sharp snares and understated vocals and sounds announce the arrival of the closing track ‘You Will Be Mine’, deceptively slow and low before Tiny launches into a dominating cry, a promise even, of “you will be mine”, as the drums crash around them and guitar licks pierce through. In comparison to the tracks left in its wake it’s not the most complex, but somehow pulls the strongest punches and is undeniably heavenly to listen to.
With a true powerhouse voice and artistically genre-blended sound of soul, funk and alt-rock, Tiny may be their name but their influence will be towering.
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