We’ve gotten to know Japanese-British producer and vocalist Miso Extra fairly well over the course of two sleek hip-house EPs. But with her full-length debut, Earcandy, the cloud-rap and electropop influences largely give way to a futuristic take on rhythm and blues—what the artist herself calls R&B “with a wonky twist.” From the Afrobeat sounds of opener “Love Train” to a form of highly modern dance-pop informed by future bass heard later on the record, each of these songs has its own distinct flavor, though its creator maintains a sonic narrative throughout that anchors these songs firmly within her unique vision for throwback R&B in the age of ChatGPT.
While NewJeans, Tems, Destiny’s Child (as interpreted by Tricky), A. K. Paul, and TYSON are all listed by the songwriter as reference points (the latter two musicians even join her on a pair of the record’s cuts, along with Metronomy), Miso maintains an air of “euphoric exhaustion,” as she puts it, on these songs. She describes the record as being about “navigating the joys and hardships of what it is to love,” as signaled by the aforementioned opener, with each track that follows striking a remarkable balance between love-struck bliss and melodious insecurity.
Find a stream of Earcandy below, along with Miso Extra’s track-by-track breakdown of the project. Additionally, you can purchase the album via Transgressive here.
1. “Love Train”
Welcome aboard this ride of self-exploration. Navigating the joys and hardships of what it is to love. I wanted something sensual, and was very inspired by Tems for this song.
2. “POP”
I know I’m not alone when I say this, but some things are so cute, you want to squeeze the life out of them. “POP” explores that fine line between loving and an unhealthy obsession: cute aggression. K-pop group NewJeans came up a lot in my mind when writing this one.
3. “Good Kisses”
The insecure feeling of falling head-over-heals for someone and them seemingly not returning the feeling—or is it just your mind spinning a false narrative in their absence? Joe Mount [of Metronomy] was brilliant in understanding my desire to create an R&B songs with a wonky twist.
4. “Certified”
Doubling down on the delulu and trying all kinds of magical charm to win someone’s affection.
5. “Playboi”
It’s a journey to discover one’s boundaries, and this song is very much that. I wanted the AI section to feel as if you’re asking Siri or ChatGPT for answers and what it might give you as a response.
6. “Done.”
Throwback R&B vibes. When Tricky played these guitar chords it made me think of Destiny’s Child, and the rest flowed from there.
7. “Moshi Moshi (Interlude)”
This interlude features a voice note from my mum checking in to see if I’m OK. I wanted to create this feeling of disconnecting from the whirlwind of the previous tracks—creating space to take a breather and reflect.
8. “Slow Down”
“Slow Down” opens with a response to the voice note in the interlude. The realization that happiness is something you create for yourself and not something you seek in others. This song, for me, is euphoric exhaustion.
9. “Ghostly”
Mission statement. Finding your groove and not allowing others to rush you. As an A. K. Paul fan, this really is a dream come true to have collaborated on this song.
10. “Don’t Care”
Finding your feet with securing boundaries and caring a little less about the opinions of others. This also features the same OP1 sample to “Playboi” to really give you that sense of a common thread, musically speaking, and question if things really have changed.
11. “Candy Crushin’”
Having a weak moment and regressing: Old habits die hard. I really enjoyed TYSON’s project Pisces Problems. I felt it mirrored a similar sense of self reflection to what I was trying to do, and getting to work with her on this song was a joy.
12. “Earcandy”
I wanted something that felt euphoric and earnest. So I wanted to strip back a lot of the production and it only felt right to have Ricky [Damian]’s voice on the record at the end, as he was so pivotal in getting the album across the finish line.
