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Music

Give Yourself a Little Hope with Pawws' "Just Be Kind"

Meet classically trained vocalist Lucy Taylor, who's worked with MGMT and has the perfect sad 80s vibe.

There's a very specific sickly sweet sadness feeling that I usually associate with certain 80s songs. Throw on “Heart of Glass” by Blondie, “Alone” by Heart or something off the Flashdance soundtrack and I'm sobbing but somehow elated. It's that weird, crystalline energy that England's Pawws (aka Lucy Taylor) channels on “Just Be Kind” the final track of her forthcoming EP Sugar.

Taylor is a classically trained vocalist, and that precision comes through with the distinct placement of every note. But the track is about a relationship's unraveling, and the way she lets herself fall out of control is an emotional landslide. It echoes the eerie, claustrophobic synths of, say, the Twin Peaks soundtrack in a way that veers more disco than rural murder. But the inclusion of a quote from the film Trust right at the end of the song amps up the drama.

"This song is about the demise of a relationship and the only beacon of light is the hope even though things have fallen apart, you can still find it somewhere in yourself to be kind to each other,” she said of the track. “Unfortunately this isn't sometimes possible.”

Previously, Taylor worked with MGMT and Kele Okereke of Bloc Party before deciding to go solo as Pawws. Her initial EP Sugar is out June 16 in the UK through Best Fit Recordings. Stream “Just Be Kind” below and listen to her other sweetly sad tracks on Soundcloud.