Review; MILA - "Hard Rain"

A simple but memorable guitar riff coupled with subtle electronic drums introduces the first couple of bars, before a driving drum beat, bass guitar, a more pronounced guitar part and vocals punch in. The verses are delivered in an uptempo spoken word/rap style, giving way to a more melodic hook in the chorus. The bridge begins as an instrumental and seamlessly transitions back into the final chorus. The drum pattern remains a constant throughout, guiding the flow of the song, while the use of panned, layered backing vocals expresses an almost restless energy that can only be released through music.

The production is tasked with blending many layers whilst retaining clarity and power, which is all delivered fantastically. Although there is undeniable bounce that would get live audiences moving, the melody, especially in the chorus, offers a slightly darker feel, indicative of the general theme in the lyrics.

When explaining how the track came about, MILA says; "‘HARD RAIN’ was written during the first lockdown when everything turned a bit south. I went through a phase of writing heavier songs with more guitar which is something I don’t do very much anymore; all my guitars are broken and I don’t really get round to fixing stuff that much! I wrote this song because I felt kind of angry at the way things were being handled and didn’t feel much hope for the future. This is basically me having a little strop in the form of a song.”

Listen to "Hard Rain" here