Listen: 7.5 Years by Sasha & The Bear

Having already appeared on BlackPlastic’s pages earlier this year and back in 2023, duo Sasha Daniel and Dov Igel are back again, sneaking in just before the hammer falls on 2024 with another introspective piece of melancholic pop.

On their new single, 7.5 Years, Sasha gives voice to the process of grieving that comes with a break-up, and the overwhelming sense of loss. As she lays out in the song’s chorus, the feeling of disconnection results in a painful experience of being lost and directionless… The anchors and plans associated with a long-term relationship suddenly removed, we are adrift, with the sense of a future unwritten. It is overwhelming, cold, and forbidding, the change yet to culminate in any kind of rebirth and possibility.

As is always the case with Sasha & The Bear, the pair have constructed a sophisticated alt-pop aesthetic that lends weight to their new single’s emotional message, without distracting from the feeling conveyed in the vocals and lyrics. There is a refined aesthetic to the sound here that I truly appreciate, as the song itself puts me right in the shoes of a person navigating the painful experience of an emotional severance.

Check out 7.5 Years below:

Listen: We’re The Only by Sasha & The Bear

Following on from their celluloid-soaked epic, Something You Said, from September last year, duo Sasha & The Bear are back with new single We’re The Only.

Last time we checked in with Sasha & The Bear, the pair had been brought back together despite being divided by geography. With Dov having moved to Tel Aviv, the death of his mother brought him even closer to Sasha, and the duo started making music again, meeting in Scandinavia and, later, Madrid, to do so. Since then, they have come together in the Netherlands to record their second EP, 7.5 Years, which is scheduled to be released later this year.

Where Something You Said basked in a synth-heavy, cinematic vibe, We’re The Only has a more open and organic sound. The aesthetic has hints of Foals to it, math rock guitars combined with a steady kick drum as reverb heavy vocals evoke a sense of loneliness and space. The sound is like a holiday gone wrong, the space, and time, that should be restorative suddenly becoming lonely and alienating.

The song’s lyrics depict the breakdown of a relationship between two people deeply in love. Faced with the recognition that the relationship they had is over and a sense of disbelief at what happened, yet unsure as to what it was that didn’t work. As Sasha & The Bear let the experience roll around inside their sound, the A437zDJEHf3k_gFrBG__ result is restrained and simple, yet deeply moving.

Listen: Something You Said by Sasha & The Bear

Channeling an emotive synth pop sound, Something You Said rides the kind of celluloid-soaked 80s-vibe I find so infectious. Big kick drums and snares pulse, as dark chords and arpeggiated melodies rise, slowly enveloping the vocal duet at the centre of Sasha & The Bear’s latest song.

Depicting the challenges and irresistible force of love, Something You Said is an exploration of the wild, unpredictable feelings that flow in the wake of desire and attraction. The song’s melodies and atmosphere are a deliberate reflection of that feeling – both epic and intense.

Sasha & The Bear is the musical pairing of singer, songwriter, and producer Sasha Daniel, and songwriter, producer, and singer Dov Igel. Having both created music individually, the duo came together in Brooklyn under this new guise, back in 2016. The pair subsequently took a break to work individually, with Dov moving to Tel Aviv. Following the tragic death of Dov’s mother, however, they became closer still, travelling to Scandinavia together to make music depicting “nature, loss and friendship”, and more recently to the suburbs of Madrid, where they worked on their debut EP.