Review: "waste a life" - philine
- Azalea Withrow
- Sep 10
- 2 min read
"Waste a life" is a warm, contemplative song from philine's second EP, the truth of living in reality. A continuation of her first EP, the side effects of living in a fantasy, this second release is grounded in coming to terms with how she wants to live. Philine wrote her first EP about living in her head and focusing on her relationship to her anxieties. "Waste a life," the opening song on her second project, marks a clear turning point. In the song, philine details the goodness she sacrifices when letting anxiety and overthinking dictate her life. Detailing her childhood role as the eldest and most cautious, the singer finds clarity, "it's like my mother said, if you think it's gonna happen, then it's what you get. And I guess up until now I haven't lived by that."
Drawing listeners in with melodious guitar and piano, the percussion comes in a beat before philine's earnest vocals. Making use of instrumental pauses and fades allows philine's sound to take up the most space in the song. The rhythmic drums mirror the tempo of the song, creating concise harmonies. Philine weaves between her lower and upper vocal registers to enhance the sound dynamics, including emotive breathwork and melismas. The use of vocal stacking is rather minimal throughout the piece, emphasizing where philine's voice is and the emotions behind it. "Waste a life" engages with a degree of directness in lyricism and soundscape that easily achieves resonance with audiences.
Dutch singer-songwriter Philine has been writing and performing songs since her childhood. The narrative shift from the musician's first EP to her second release marks the change "from escapism and self-imposed illusions to confronting raw, unfiltered reality." Philine's music has amassed over 133,000 monthly listeners on Spotify through its resonant themes and sing-along quality. Beginning in early November, Philine is embarking on her headlining tour for the truth of living in reality. Philine has spoken about her writing process that when she is creating stories for her music, "I’ll always have stories to tell. But the thing with a story is, it’s not reality, it’s a story. And it keeps you from living in the actual reality." And that is just what she sings about on her second EP.
Written By Azalea Withrow
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