Ashnikko’s newest release displays her wide variety of talent between its unique sound, clever lyrics, and out-of-the-box music video. The new single “Cry” is one of two tracks so far that are said to be included on the artist's upcoming project.
The mixed genre singer released her "Hi, It’s Me" EP in July of last year, containing the hit track “STUPID,” which went viral on TikTok, gaining the majority of her fans and drastically growing her following since previous projects.
Since first hearing the track, it has become one of my favorite Ashnikko songs of all time and has been on repeat ever since. The addition of electro-pop singer Grimes adds even more eccentricity and fresh vibes to the track, leaving its sole negative to its short length of just two minutes and six seconds.
While Ashnikko has so far done a beautiful job at mixing genres such as pop and rap, “Cry,” turns the tables to a more punk vibe that goes great with the musician's style. “I wrote it kind of as a joke because I was like, ‘I wanna make an Evanescence song.’ I listened to it back like a month later and I’m like, ‘You know what, actually this song is pretty cool,’,” Ashnikko said in an interview with Paper magazine.
The extraterrestrial music video brought eccentric animation and weird visuals, adding to her personal ”brand” and giving an alternate representation of the song’s meaning.
“Are you tryna make me cry? / Are you tryna make me lose it? / You win some and lose some / This could get gruesome.”
In an Instagram comment, AshNikko stated that this tune is about her ex-boyfriend cheating on her with her now ex-best friend. “I was so heartbroken and mad at her for so long for betraying me. It wasn’t even about the boy anymore (he was dispensable lol). I write songs to help me get over things, and writing this song a year and a half ago did just that.” The disheartening experience came with a lot of difficult emotions, all of which are portrayed strongly with this song’s sound and lyrics.
“I’m a tough b*tch, but I’m sensitive / Could a, could a, could a quick f**k be a sedative / It’s relative / Cause you been pushing me off of a f**king edge / I’m about to rip all of my hair out cause I’m madder than I’ve ever been.”
These lyrics also demonstrate the contradicting feelings anyone would be experiencing in this situation. While you still have love for your friend, you know they just did something horrible to you.
“I just wanna call you, but I know I can’t / F**k a f**king f**kboy f**king up my plans / Lay another finger on me, you could lose a hand.”
Grimes chimes in with a haunting verse that shows she can relate to the ugly hardship just as well as any of us, but is anticipating a brighter future.
“This is the winter of my discontent / Everything else is irrelevant / It’ll be fine if you just repent.”
In the video, Grimes is shown as a group of vengeful fairies, who eventually grants a three-headed Ashnikko the power to enact revenge. Therefore, the song perfectly ends with the following words: “Careful with me I’m volatile / Careful with me I’m homicidal.”
No matter what type of music you listen to, this song and video is something that I believe everyone should check out. While shorter than most of her previous work, the range of brilliance is out of this world.
I would give this release 4.5 out of 5 Swoops.
