San Francisco-based artist Taifa Nia has released his latest single, “FML 2020”.
The first single off his upcoming EP Invidia, “FML 2020,” was – as the title suggests – written during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, and centres around the realisation that the pandemic stopped a lot of people’s forward momentum in its tracks.
Boldly taking from lae 1990s alternative rock, “FML 2020” is a thundering, slow-moving descent into dirty, grungy guitars and rapid, smashing cymbals. Taifa Nia’s vocals are similarly muddy as he half-screams “and I hate that I’m in love with a memory/and I hate that line/and I hate that I’m with you/with you/with you/forever”.
The rhythmic, cyclical nature of the lyrics belies the central tenet of the song; dullness and repetition are totally stifling, and suddenly losing the shape of the life you thought you were going to live through factors beyond your control is a vastly difficult thing to deal with.
The struggle behind the song is clear, especially capped off with the real voicemail from Taifa Nia’s sister at the end of the track, as she explains that she’s checking in on her brother after she herself tested positive for COVID.
Connect with Taifa Nia: Instagram
