Sakara draws a line under emotional manipulation on ‘Playground’, the final single leading into her forthcoming debut EP. Centred on the painful realisation that somebody close to you may not be the person you believed them to be, the track finds self-worth not through easy positivity, but in knowing when it’s time to walk away. As Sakara puts it: “It didn’t have to be gentle, pretty, or positive.”
Moving beyond the softer alt-folk of her previous work, ‘Playground’ brings those roots into grittier alt-rock territory. Sparse verses pair Sakara’s voice with dirty, slightly bluesy electric guitar and a simple bass-and-snare beat, leaving plenty of space around her increasingly defiant delivery. The choruses then hit considerably harder, distorted guitars crashing in alongside bigger drums and cymbals. Its plodding pace gives the track additional weight rather than rushing towards resolution.
Sakara sounds tougher and more confrontational here, calling time on the games while keeping just enough of her folky character intact.
