From metal to messy pop: Sasami takes another bold stylistic leap with mixed results but undeniable personality.

After veering from dreamy indie rock (Sasami, 2019) to pulverising industrial metal on 2022’s Squeeze, Sasami Ashworth has pivoted once again—this time into bright, glossy pop territory. Her third solo album is a kaleidoscope of tangled emotions, unpacking love, lust, and spiritual chaos with a wink and a snarl. Take Nothing But a Sad Face On, a sultry, Lana Del Rey-style ballad reportedly inspired by Eve’s post-Edenic fling with a snake—a biblical remix you won’t find in scripture.

Ashworth’s pop instincts, however, aren’t always airtight. While the production is slick—imagine Taylor Swift flirtatiously colliding with Grimes—many of the hooks vanish almost as quickly as they arrive. Still, Slugger stands out as a sun-drenched highlight, opening with the jarring self-declaration, “I’m a cancer,” while Honeycrash and The Seed flirt with abrasive metallic textures beneath their polished sheen.

It’s in these offbeat moments that Sasami is most compelling. “I’ll come if you lick my scars,” she sings on Love Makes You Do Crazy Things—a line that exemplifies her ability to inject a jolt of discomfort into otherwise radio-friendly sounds. Squeeze may not always land, but it proves Sasami remains one of indie’s most unpredictable shape-shifters.