Fousheé - softCORE

If last year’s soul- infused ‘time machine’ found Fousheé delicately grappling with insecurities, debut album proper ‘softCORE’ is the cathartic scream into the ether to fully get them out. A punk-indebted record, it’s the sound of an artist fully letting go - and having fun doing so. “Simmer down, I don’t fuck around,” she screams on Runaways-esque opener ‘simmer down’, before the pulsating ‘die’ finds her yelling about how “I looked so good he died”. A fun and fiery record, Fousheé excels when she pushes herself to her limits, the screaming interludes of ‘i’m fine’ expertly underscoring her stunning vocal delivery on the rest of the track’s guitar- led melodies, while ‘bored’’s raucous thrashing injects the track’s pop-punk stylings with the kind of electricity that sends shivers down the spine. Even in the album’s more chilled moments (’unexplainable’, ‘smile’, ‘let u back in’), Fousheé grabs attention, and ‘softCORE’ holds it long after you’ve finished listening.