Drifting in from North London, the 23-year-old singer-songwriter Cathyy releases a plethora of musical diary entries through her sophomore album, 'Romantic Psycho.'
With poetic lyrics straight from her personal experiences, Cathyy puts her thoughts and emotions onto paper for any listener to resonate with. Delving into the pop world with catchy heartbreak anthems, Cathyy will inevitably put a smile on your face while reminding you of tender past heartbreaks, triggering all sorts of nostalgia.
Softly opening the album 'Romantic Psycho' with the intro track, "The Break Up," Cathyy takes on a platonic approach while sadly singing of a friendship breakup. Through soothing acoustic instrumentals, we drift towards the outro and into the next track, "Red Dress (feat. DEE TDL)." Livening this song with nostalgic 60s flairs and Latin-inspired guitars, Cathyy sings a mysterious story of a beautiful girl sitting across the bar and remembering her bright red dress for eternity.
Slowing it down for the next piece, "Can We Have a Moment," Cathyy offers an Ed Sheeran-inspired ballad that sings of the devastation and desperation of unrequited love, placing her entire emotion and heart into three minutes. Moving into the next track, "Dear Diary," we hear another personal and nostalgic diary entry from none other than Cathyy, sounding as though she's straight out of a coming-of-age 00s movie. While singing of crushing on someone, the calming instrumentals float us into serenity.
The next piece, "About You," is said to be the ultimate crush song on the album. Through somber violins and Cathyy's romantic lyricism, she sings of feeling hopeless when obsession takes its toll. Drifting into melancholy with the next song, "Only You," this track takes the cake as the most vulnerable and saddening piece to the puzzle. Cathyy sings another reflective message of longing for someone who can't be hers while slowly drifting into the next track, "Love You." An upbeat love song surrounding Cathyy's first relationship attempt, singing a playful message of loving that partner for eternity.
Allowing listeners to heavily relate to the next song, "Beautiful," Cathyy takes on a vulnerable lullaby approach while singing of not feeling beautiful and the insecurities she struggles with. Striking us with the next powerful breakup anthem, "Ruined," Cathyy offers a spiteful message to an ex that tarnished their love and ruined the places they once wandered. Over soothing acoustic guitar, we move into the next track, "Kiss You Goodnight."
A highly powerful soft-rock ballad, Cathyy tells us an intimate story of wanting the best for a lover who's down and out. Through Cathyy's ethereal melodies, she serenades us with her lyricism of wanting the best for someone and kissing them goodnight. Offering another acoustic ballad with the next piece, "Lonely Town," Cathyy tells a tale of longing for someone and becoming the mayor of a lonely town while wanting a lover to come and experience her luminous light.
Giving listeners a slice of serenity through the instrumental track, "Autumn," we feel heavy Taylor Swift vibes from not only this piece but the entire album as it's jam-packed with emotional sentiments and lush melodies. Moving into the spirited love song, "Roxanne," Cathyy tells us a sappy fantasy of the charming observations she's made throughout the entirety of her loving relationship.
Ending the album with the outro track, "Candid," Cathyy takes on a raw acoustic one-take song with a similar sound to an authentic voice note. After realizing her profound love for someone, Cathyy grabs her guitar, hits record, and sings from the depths of her heart.
Experience the soothing emotion and relatable aspects of Cathyy's sophomore album, 'Romantic Psycho,' and nestle in with each conceptually sentimental notion and equally tender melodies.
Congratulations on the release of your savory sophomore album, 'Romantic Psycho.' When did you begin writing songs for this 14-track project?
Thank you! I started writing it right after the first album, to be honest, haha. I didn’t really stop writing, but the tracklist started to come together last year. By the Summer of 2020, I knew exactly what vibe I wanted and what songs to choose for the project.
What inspired you to open up and not only be so vulnerable but candid for the creation of your album 'Romantic Psycho?'
I think every songwriter is vulnerable to some extent. We are writing from our own experiences and heartbreaks, it can be scary opening up and being so honest to the public; but I just went through a lot of friendship breakups within the last year and it felt like something I had to share with people. These songs came from that and hopefully, lots of people can relate to them. It makes me feel less alone when people reach out and tell me what songs they relate to.
Were you inspired by any particular artists when creating the instrumentals, melodies, and sonic atmospheres for 'Romantic Psycho?'
I’ve been listening to a lot of stuff by a band called “Pale Waves”. Musically, you can hear a little influence from them on the full band stuff. But most of the ballads were just me finding my own style I suppose. Maybe a hint of Ed Sheeran's influence here and there, but me and my guitarist at the time worked really hard to create our own style.
Which song off of 'Romantic Psycho' would you say was the most challenging to create and write in terms of vulnerability and emotion?
I think in terms of vulnerability and emotion, “only you” was the hardest to write. It sounds catchy and mellow but I honestly can’t even listen to it properly anymore, the lyrics are just too hard-hitting and I knew how heartbroken I was when I wrote those lyrics.
Did you work with any producers, engineers, or musicians to help execute and finalize your album 'Romantic Psycho?'
Yes! I worked with a guitarist called Adam Ward, who is incredibly talented at turning my acoustic voice notes into these lovely big pop anthems you hear. Adam worked on most of the tracks with me, and Jake Sanders was my sound engineer. I worked with both of these people on the first album and it just worked so perfectly, so I needed to bring them in again for this record. The tracks “Kiss You Goodnight” and “Roxanne” were produced by a welsh producer called Dai Griff. He is insanely talented, and when he sent me the demo for both of these tracks, I knew that these would become some of my favorite tracks on the whole album. He’s brilliant, I’d love to work with him again!