by Livia Meneghin

     Fairy Pop is so 2015.

     For a DJ, a new year means new music. To maintain a reputation of taste and trendiness, it is crucial to find fresh talent and original sounds early. My sister and I co-host YapYapRadio on WFNM, the campus station. We are looking to make an impact on the airwaves, and Ryn Weaver is going to help us.

     The 21-year-old is gaining speed with her song, “Octahate,” a fun beat with Ellie-Goulding-esque vocals and quirky instrumentation. Weaver sings “I can’t take it / No one saved me.” But the song isn’t depressing or whiny by any means. The combination of percussion and the plucking of a guitar keep the song light, and even danceable, with a pop feel.

     A simple YouTube search took me to the video for the song, which includes dancers in white RootSuits and colored gloves, a black hat worthy of an appearance at the Kentucky Derby, and a little girl version of Weaver jumping on a couch from the 80’s.

     The artistic quality of the video depends on the taste of the viewer, but there’s no doubt that Weaver is going places.

     Weaver has a strong support system from musicians currently in the game, including Charli XCX, Passion Pit’s Michael Angelakos, and producers Cashmere Cat and Benny Blanco, who all helped create “Octahate.”

     Weaver has also received some love on Twitter from Hayley Williams and British singer Jessie Ware, who wrote, “Listen up! My girl @rynweaver is about to take over” with a link to Weaver’s Soundcloud.

     Weaver is pretty lucky to have so many artists behind her dream, stating, “I met [Blanco] at a party last year … and we all kinda just started to make music … this is more of a passion project for them but it’s my vision,” in Aylin Zafar’s Buzzfeed article “Meet Ryn Weaver, The Mysterious Twentysomething Behind This Summer’s Best Song.”

     While music has always been the plan for Weaver, she actually has acted under her real name, Aryn Wüthrich. She landed gigs on the television show CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and short films such as “The Bright Side” (2013) in which she also featured on the soundtrack.

     Weaver’s EP, Promises, features cleverly involved imagery into lyrics of real life experiences and emotions. In “Sail On,” Weaver tackles the toxicity of a recent break up with the beautiful imagery of myth and sailing. The track definitely feels like an end-of-the-summer anthem, evoking the necessity of confidence in moments of sadness to continue forward.

     “Promises,” with honest vocals that can give Florence Welch a run for her money, tells the story of disappointment with oneself. The song stirs a dreamlike atmosphere with an echo of the title lyric, mimicking the importance of reminders to love oneself. In between, Weaver sings faster verses that resemble rap but include her own taste of rhythm.

     “Stay Low” is probably my favorite track, already winning the most-played-song-on-my-iPod-race amongst Weaver’s music. The song starts off with poetic lyrics: “Let the night come / dim the lights some / Whiskey lemon / let the time go way slow,” which instantly take any listener to a wrap around porch in Georgia, even though, like me, they’ve probably never been there.

     “Stay Low” brings sophistication to Weaver’s Fairy Pop genre; there’s a beautiful sadness that is ethereal but maintained by a steady beat.

      2015 is the right time to start dreaming, and Ryn Weaver is going to take us on a trip. Ready to be featured on 89.1FM, the young artist is weaving together ethereal images, quirky videos, and stunning vocals to create a perfect storm.

Senior Livia Meneghin is a contributing writer. Her email is livia.meneghin@fandm.edu.

By TCR