Naming Magi Merlin's 2022 EP Gone Girl as one of the best albums of that year was no overstatement, with its soulful molten core and boundless genre fluidity still pricking a rush of excitement when I listen to it. Since then, the Montrealer has racked up collaborations with the likes of Busty and the Bass, Fernie and Gayance — and has now returned with her first solo single, "Bip."
One of the fascinating things about Merlin is her ability to shapeshift sonically with such an effortlessness that every sound feels like capturing another piece of the puzzle that is who she is as an artist. The pastel-hued hyperpop bent of "Bip" is a perfect example in its obvious departure from her previous work that still manages to call back to textures from her 2021 debut EP Drug Songs in its soft early moments, in addition to Gone Girl's unforgettable bravado.
And with Merlin, it's never been bravado for bravado's sake; here, she reckons will learning how to become truly self-confident in a social system built to inherently disadvantage women and marginalized people. "Oh, I will 'yes and' the bit," she sing-songs, "but know that the joke is shit."