Toni Sansara
“You Don’t Own Me” begins with some haunting chords on piano. Immediately Toni’s voice touches your soul – powerful and insightful.
It’s always very refreshing to listen to little-known female singers with incredible talent and prospects. The electric guitar comes in at the perfect part – building to the crescendo of the chorus as the singer emphasizes that “you don’t own me”, the repetition enhancing the strong nature she presents.
With lyrics perhaps reminiscent of Nina Nesbitt or Lauren Aquilina, the singer-songwriter nature of the lyrics makes them memorable and relatable.
I very much enjoyed the bridge, with the repetition of the continued with “I don’t owe you a thing”.
Next up is “Pray”, which I initially thought would continue with piano but instead I was surprised to hear drums reminiscent of the beginning of a fight or a show.
The piano then joins in as the pre-chorus kicks in. The song is motivational and stands its own easily.
It creates a positive vibe, with perfectly-timed “oooh’s” giving the headstrong lyrics an extra kick. “Tornado” demonstrates Toni’s vocals perhaps the best – they truly are astounding.
The opening imagery of being “on the road” and being led astray “like a tornado” almost create a midwestern theme which contrasts funnily with the empathic lyrics.
The vocalist is almost telling herself more than the listener that she is “spinning like a tornado” – I could easily see this song even getting a pop remix as it is so versatile.
“Breakaway” starts by sounding like an anthem, “I had to breakaway”. The whole E.P. would work as a gym workout playlist even due to how inspirational it is – every listener to this E.P. will find themselves relentlessly relating to the lyrics.
As a web designer myself, I began wondering which lyric I would use to entice users in from a header, but, even now, find myself unable to even pick one! I hope to hear more and see more from Toni and it was genuine delight to review this incredible E.P.
Words Emma Stevens
