We do have a kind of beauty in music, which is able to transform coarse rage into something pointed, almost graceful – and that is what Exzenya accomplishes with her Ugly When You Love Me. Yes, it is dark electronic pop, but it also happens to be much more piercing, the type of song that looks right into the face of manipulation, and does not back down.
What immediately catches the eye is her voice. Exzenya is singing with such an amazing all-operating, close to surgery precision, every slight change of tone is deliberate as she is allowing the emotion to pass through her, but never allows it to dominate. No melodrama, no frivolous outbursts. Only this chill, restrained repulsion with which it makes the entire thing all the stronger. This delivery cuts right through the production and that psychological tension is transformed into something strangely beautiful.
And the production in itself… it is buzzing like a sort of suppressed electricity. Cutting synths, percussion and uncomfortable pulse that is easy to dance to and at the same time, disorienting. All that is positioned in such a way that it seems as though the whole soundscape is in a state of suspended animation. There is nothing heavy handed, nothing placed there to occupy space, it is bare minimum but well orchestrated, leaving the emotional heavy lifting to its own devices.
The theme of the song burrows into the point in which love turns sour like when something that would have been tender, begins showing its darker side. That is what the cover art is all about: a rose that does not simply wilt but actually bleeds to death. It is gothic, movie-esque, almost excruciatingly candid and makes the single a complete composition of art as opposed to another song in a playlist.
The fact that this book is psychologically sharp is what makes it actually stand out against others. The experience of behavioural analysis that Exzenya has had is evident; these are not merely heartbreak lyrics, it is about manipulation and the gradual and disturbing fade away of affection. The lines are like mirrors – those that make you take a longer look than you would prefer.
It is a song that any person can enjoy as long as they values emotional intelligence, which has been enclosed in a lushly constructed pop with boldness. It is the type of song that you end up listening to repeatedly and each time you listen, you hear something different. Sincere, mesmerizing, and heart breaking without being noisy, still a highlight in the history of dark-pop narrating.
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