by A. Pollinger
"If you take note of any pop singer this year, let it be Francesca Fuentes."
The melodies of Francesca Fuentes, an enchanting singer hailing from New Jersey, are not unfamiliar in the indie-pop realm. While a familiarity rings through her mesmerizing tracks, there is something wholly unique that spikes the pink drink gin-fizz of her new EP, Can’t Hide.
I was captivated by the visual appeal of Fuentes’ music video, “I Just Wanna Be Your Lover Again,” a love-lorn journey through the decades and a musical homage to Madonna, Mariah Carey, and Priscilla Presley. Pop is something that BTN!M has covered plenty since it launched in 2022, but it’s been a genre that, frankly, I haven’t been all that excited about. Then, Fuentes enters the chat with Can’t Hide. It was clear that this was going to be anything but an ordinary heartbreak EP.
Listeners are plunged into the haunting, sultry waves of “Pink Drink,” produced by Russell Hayden and complete with backup vocals by another New Jersey singer, Sofia Khorosh (aka Sof, now known as Fifi Koro).
With bedroom pop vibrancy, Fuentes adds a layer of vulnerability to her evocative persona with “I Just Wanna Be Your Lover Again.” The words sound as if they are jumping off the page of a wine-stained, forbidden diary of a lost girl. It’s as if you’re intruding upon something; perhaps you should turn back before Fuentes sees you through the flames of her burn-pile of discarded love letters.
Following is “Can’t Hide,” the EP’s namesake. “Can’t Hide” encompasses the rejuvenation one feels after realizing that you don’t win by languishing in stagnation. Enthralling in its lyrical admission, “Can’t Hide” is a poppin’, heartbroken laceration that simultaneously blossoms despite the pain of it all.
“I Just Wanna Be Your Lover Again” is certainly my favorite track off the EP. It’s catchy, moody, poignant, yet remarkably simplistic in its execution. It’s as if the act of singing this tune breathlessly conjures the heartbreaker of this story. Fuentes has managed to create something entirely fresh, cathartic, and most of all, memorable. It’s no wonder that critics can’t get enough of Can’t Hide, and no surprise that it made it to MTV’s Brand Spankin’ New.
Fuentes is genuinely in a league of her own. Her musical balancing act of simplicity and complexity is impressive, even otherworldly. If you take note of any pop singer this year, let it be Francesca Fuentes. Her fresh, bedroom-night pop tunes will have you aching for more long after the songs have lapsed. There are certainly more pink drinks on the horizon.
Keep up with all things Francesca Fuentes here! Can’t Hide is available on all streaming platforms.
*Cover photo by Kris Khunachak, courtesy of Francesca Fuentes “Chess.”