Georgia - Euphoric

Where second album ‘Seeking Thrills’ saw Georgia manipulate and force ecstasy via party escapism, follow-up ‘Euphoric’ relinquishes control in favour of surprise: the pang in Georgia’s chest is sudden, unplanned, immediate, nauseating and uncontrollable. It’s a happening of romance and heartbreak that fills the musician with euphoric joy and exhilarating pain. And the pop is brilliant, colourful and saccharine, too – there are goosebumps galore when listening to the masterful way she plays with pop tradition, crafting a gut-wrenching image of infatuation as though her pen had dipped in sunlight - even despite the occasionally paint-by-numbers lyrical content. Its sense of freedom is vast, illustrated by the fact that this is the first time she’s collaborated with an outside producer, Rostam Batmanglij, for her own music.

Narratively, it’s an A-to-B, step-by-step instruction on How to Get In and Out of a Relationship While Feeling All Your Feelings and Recovering Fine, which suits well to Georgia’s brand of effortless electronic pop. Standouts include the persuasive, alluring ‘Give It Up For Love’ which provides true pop euphoria; the glittering, uninhibited ‘Some Things You’ll Never Know’; ‘Live Like We’re Dancing (Part II)’, its repurposing of her 2020 Mura Masa collaboration a flex in her production prowess; and the heart-shredding ‘Keep On’, a musing on perseverance after love dies. Finally, closer ‘So What’ sees her dive right back in again, making ‘Euphoric’ an endless loop, a maddening romantic fable about hopeless devotion and eternally searching for the one. While serial monogamy might be ill advised, ‘Euphoric’ is grand, inspiring and convincing - and feels like summer love bottled up.