Breaking Down @fentsewithaneh's 'Get It Together' EP

If I had to describe Fentse, I would describe her as a mix of Lana Del Rey and Lorde which is not a combination of sounds that we usually get in South Africa. With that being said, I honestly feel like Fentse is the most original talent to come out of the South African alternative R&B scene and I hope her talent will be appreciated by the local audience. I thought about how I should go about writing this piece on 'Get It Together' because there is so much going on, from the production to the lyrics, which I had to bully her for by the way. The EP is a tale of heartbreak and sonically depicts the emotions that Fentse goes through in trying to recover from said heartbreak.

On the opening song, 'Hollywood', she says "Do not Disturb I put that on my phone, coz (because) I ain't picking up your calls no more". You see, this is the beginning of the journey of heartbreak. She is upset at the state of the relationship but this is the simplest part of the story. In the song Fentse describes to her lover that she is something of a star, even going as far as comparing herself to a star in Hollywood. Given her level of talent, I for one am not upset at this comparison but the story really starts to evolve on 'Leaves'. The song opens with a beautiful chord progression that is backed by harmonic vocals. Even the way she delivers the vocals on 'Leaves' differs from her vocal delivery on Hollywood. On the chorus of 'Leaves' she sings "Should you stay? Or should you go? I must accept our leaves have fell. So please leave well". She is comparing their love to the season of autumn, the season where plants die, which is what's currently happening to her relationship with her lover. 

On the song 'You Could Love Me', the production ismore upbeat with a slight tropical feel. The reason for this is because she is trying to explain to her lover that what they have is special, unique and unlikely to be found with someone else. This is clear in the chorus when she sings "Nothing feels so right, Just love me you can try, Nothings better than the taste of you and I“. She even compares her relationship to that of Will and Jada Smith who have been known to have their relationships problems but despite that, they always find a way back to each other. The following song, 'The Drive Home', is appropriately titled because she talks about her relationship with her lover coming to an end. She talks with a certain level of finality when she sings "The drive home was empty, I wanna touch your hair, Wishing you were here, How I love those ears, That listen with such care". The hollow-sounding keys add to the atmosphere of the song and you can really feel her pain. Later in the song, she mentions how her lover lies like no one else she knows but despite this, she still longs for them. 'Good Goodbye' is what feels like her moment of release. This is the moment where she really comes to terms with the state of the relationship. However, Fentse isn't trying to block out the pain she endured as a result of the deterioration of the relationship. In fact, she is very aware of the 'scars' she got from the relationships when she sings "I see you in me so much it scares me, Should’ve of put my lock down just for safety, Because (coz) when you disappeared it messed up with my fears"

'Sage' acts as an interlude for the final song on this well-constructed EP. 'Before I Can Break' is a bittersweet ending for me as a listener. I thought that by this point she would have accepted that what she had with her lover is truly dead and gone, but we all know that love doesn't work like that and I sympathise with her when she sings "The Mirror never lies (oh no) Yeah nothing like my mind, (oh no), Ignore the awful signs That help you see the light, I got dead people living through me, And I’m sick of being tired". Stream this amazing debut from Fentse below.