“Inches” by Aiida sounds like an upbeat pop song that you can vibe to on the surface, but when you listen closely to the lyrics, it’s not only a good song but also important. Aiida describes the difficulty of trying to meet society’s impossible beauty standards, and how these beauty standards have created a cruel system where you feel like the prettier and skinnier you are, the more valuable you are. As Aiida details, trying to be liked by people more by changing your appearance will mentally and physically destroy you since it’s unsustainable. Something as superficial as your waist size will never actually mean something in the long run, and trying to get down to a certain number will only ever hurt you. She explains how people get caught up in this vicious cycle with lines like “Friend’s would praise me/When I got thinner” and “cause no one listens/till you lose weight” and says “Think the world needs fixing/Cause I don’t want to/Base my love on inches.” This is a powerful message, and it’s with art like this that we can change society.
The production of “Inches” is catchy but has depth and layers that add a melancholy tone. The song has a combination of instrumentation and digital production, with a strumming acoustic guitar that adds fullness to the chorus, and with piano and bass accompanying the verses. I really liked the flute-like instrument that would play at some points in the song, adding a brightness to the production and creating a unique sound. The harmonies on her vocals are also very pretty and help create the underlying melancholy tone that really elevates the lyrics and make the song feel more nuanced and dynamic.
Aiida is a queer pop artist from Oslo, Norway. Known for her powerhouse vocals and energetic arrangements, she is a force to be reckoned with. She currently has 5,872 monthly Spotify listeners, with her song “Talk (About What?)” amassing over 140,000 streams and her song "Landslide" accumulating over 120,000 streams. “Inches” is her latest single, highlighting the vulnerability she displays in her discography. Her music is reminiscent of artists like ELIO, FLETCHER, and Holly Humberstone. I look forward to seeing what kind of music she makes in the future!
Written By Rachael Bach
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