AVIV'S BLACK COFFEE: FILL IT UP IF YOU WANNA

Photos by Nick Merzetti

15-year-old Prodigy AVIV poured "Black Coffee" a little while ago, and has been met with a much deserved warm reception that I feel is still insufficient considering how amazing the song is. The Toronto native recently signed with Photo Finish Records, where she's recording a series of singles to develop a wider audience.

Featuring OCTAVIO The Dweeb, this warm bedroom-synth-pop single, is incredibly catchy, sweet, and rich, just like a good mug of its namesake. "Black Coffee" features tender and soft vocals all around that still somehow belie AVIV's youth with her deep and mature sound. Her dexterous songwriting is to be envied and admired in equal parts, and it feels just as accomplished as anyone else's. Don't let her youth fool you, there's nothing amateurish, unpolished, or underdeveloped about her sound. And although the song is indeed sweet, it's not lacking in that hint of strength and bitterness that really gives a staying power to the track.

AVIV has cited Lana Del Rey as one of her influences, and vocally speaking, there are enough similitudes to make that sufficiently clear in a matter of seconds, however, AVIV's style is much warmer and tender. She doesn't -entirely- lack Lana's Gothic-Americana darkness, but there *are/ hints here and there of that grit coming through at times from underneath all of the melodic early-morning sunshine of "Black Coffee". 

Let's not forget OCTAVIO's contribution to the track, although his vocal presence is brief, it's very significant and it works great to break AVIV's vocals with a counterpoint both in sound and in the lyrical play-acting of the song's story. Hopefully, this won't be the last time these two work together!

One of the most exciting things about hearing such young recording artists is the sea of possibilities one can imagine. Though I said there was nothing "immature" with her sound, that's not entirely true when one considers the person behind it. She will not be the same person at 20, at 26, or at 34 as she is today, and that will definitely reflect on her music in ways we cannot yet tell, so the level of talent that she shows right now is what makes the prospect of personal and musical growth so exciting. Not only does she have a long career ahead of her, but she also has yet to go through many personal transformations that could take her talent in so many directions, this is true of many artists, but how much truer is it when they're basically still a kid?

To finalize: I *loved* "Black Coffee", I think it's a brilliant pop song, and I think it deserves all the praise it's getting and then some more, so make sure you don't miss it.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Samuel Aponte is Venezuelan-born raised and based. 

I joined Rival Magazine after a few years of doing PR work for independent musicians of all stripes; understanding their struggles to be heard in a sea of constant  ADHD noise and paywalled access to platforms, I now bring a willingness to always appreciate and encourage the effort and creativity that artists put into their work . Can also find some of my writings on LADYGUNN and We Found New Music.