I’ve had a couple songs by HANNAHBELLA on my personal playlists for a while, but the newest single “Skin”, from July of this year, was the catalyst for me to learn more about her. Here’s that song:

It’s short, catchy and I played it three times in a row when I first heard it. Everything HANNAHBELLA has released lately has been surprising. Several of her songs sound like they’re coming from the perspective of an obsessive stalker or an infatuated ex. It’s fun as hell.

The songs tread the line between earnest and satirical, but above all they’re charming and kind of funny. They each have a slightly DIY sound to the mix that adds charisma and self-awareness to what in another artist’s hands might be cheesy.

Take “Skin” for example – it even starts with a slight chuckle before heading into straight ahead electro pop territory with off-kilter harmonizing. But a Vogue-style spoken word break starts to make the song seem a little sinister. Glitchy production and lyrics like “Sickly sweet/I’m rotten to the core to be exact” put it over the top.

“Can’t Let You Go”, from May of this year, is another example of it. It’s built around a classic breakbeat, a heavy industrial guitar riff that sounds like it’s from 1995, and a super playful vocal, and somehow it works. The lyrics are stalker-ish, maybe written from the perspective of an unhinged girlfriend (“Demons envy my dedication when I / When I cry”), and the vocal shifts toward the end to a smirking, sneering tone, ending in an exaggerated air-kiss. It’s and infectious and fun.

The last track I want to feature is called “Secret”. Released back in October 2023, it’s melodic pop that starts off by the numbers, but veers in a strange direction at the chorus, with the vocal shifting into cutesy overarticulation that introduces an ever-so-slightly menacing tone.

HANNAHBELLA’s music is the type that’s easy to dismiss on first listen, but has a sense of fun and self-awareness that’s contagious.

In this interview with RTE from May, she discusses plans to record an EP over the summer, so hopefully there’s more to come soon.

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