MIYA FOLICK Fri 2/24 High Water Mark
MIYA FOLICK Fri 2/24 High Water Mark ANIKA NORRGARD

Los Angeles’ Miya Folick wrote one of 2016’s catchiest songs: “Pet Body,” three near-perfect minutes of snarling pop released as a single last August. With coy but biting sarcasm, Folick sings about the very relatable feeling of being “a sack of flesh” and “a delicate piece of equipment” against sharp guitar riffs that spiral into the song’s addictive hook. It gets even more interesting around the two-minute mark, where she veers out of radio-friendly pop and into a shrieking punk bridge.

Folick’s October single “God Is a Woman” is completely different: an electro-pop confessional that stumbles into some clichés (“I need a kiss/Or maybe a little bit of bliss”) but stays grounded the cracked-open vulnerability of her vocals. It’s still unclear if “Pet Body” and “God Is a Woman” were meant to tease a follow-up to Folick’s 2015 debut EP, Strange Darling—six tracks of meditative folk-pop that’s livened up with electronic production effects. Opener “Talking with Strangers” is her longest recorded song, where she agonizes, “How did I miss this lesson when I was young?” “What I Have To” is the EP’s standout, mostly due to the repetitive chug of bass and the cool detachment of Folick’s voice. “I Think This Is the Dream Where I Met You” provides contrast, with songbird vocals, spacy production, and softly strummed acoustic guitar.

Folick’s bio says she grew up going to Jodo Shinshu Buddhist church in Orange County, played basketball for nearly a decade, and met her band on Tinder. It’s not clear where she’ll go from here, but her trajectory looks promising.