Label: Since 93 / RCA
Released: 12th July 2024
It’s incredibly difficult to write with honesty, simplicity, and humanity, something which Cat Burns does with ease. As the album’s title suggests, it really does feel like a journey through the unsteady years of your ‘early twenties’, exploring mental health (‘low self-esteem’), personality crises (‘people pleaser’), and toxic relationships (‘go’). There are also moments of light to break up the foggy feeling of young adulthood, with ‘live more & love more’ and ‘happier without you’ acting as breaks in the dark clouds.
The sonic palette is incredibly similar across the record, which ties the album together from start to finish in a way that ensures no song feels misplaced. The production is flawless, the lyrics are effortlessly vulnerable and starkly honest, and there’s no doubt in her catchy, relaxed pop songwriting ability.
It does also mean that ‘early twenties’ is pretty much exactly what you would expect if you had only heard ‘go’ and ‘people pleaser’ on the radio. This is no bad thing – they’re both exceptional pop songs that rocketed Cat Burns into household name territory – but there are moments where you’re left wanting something slightly more daring and expansive, especially on a debut album.
‘early twenties’ is an exciting jumping-off point for whatever comes next and provides Burns with plenty of options going forward. It’s a record with its finger on the pulse, one that navigates 21st-century life in a modern and relatable way; all that’s missing is that little sprinkle of risk that could take this from a good album to a really great one.
