The Indonesian singer-songwriter swings between cool coquetry and emotional devastation on her finest work to date An electrified hum opens ‘Buzz’ and, seconds later, NIKI makes its purpose clear: “ It’s the anticipation when the amps turn on / Just cables and crackle .” As the title track of her third album unfolds, that line reveals itself as a metaphor for being on the edge of falling for someone new, a super-sized crush turning your every nerve into a live wire. There are moments on ‘Buzz’ that have the same impact, filling the record with rushes of excitement.
Since the Jakarta-born, Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter signed with 88rising in 2017, she’s explored different expressions of her artistry. She tied up her stories in noirish R&B on her 2020 debut album ‘Moonchild’ , and two years later, revisited some songs she’d written in her teen years via the saccharine pop of ‘Nicole’ . At the beginning of 2024, she shared the standalone single ‘24’, reflecting on the first quarter-century of her life in a Joni Mitchell -indebted piece of hushed folk-pop.
Mitchell’s influence can be felt on ‘Buzz’ too – as well as that of Sheryl Crow , Liz Phair and Fleetwood Mac . Here, NIKI deals in hook-filled alt-rock, ‘Too Much Of A Good Thing’ strutting on a ’60s pop bassline that means business, shuffling drums and a swooning guitar line weaving around it like they’re in a flirtatious dance. The riff of ‘Colossal Loss’ offers a buzz.