Bad Intentions Have Never Sound so Sweet
Even if it is October, Niykee Heaton’s debut EP Bad Intentions sounds like spring. While you can count on Bad Intentions to help keep you warm on a cold night, it begs you to move if you’re still.
Bad Intentions feels like an album in flux. It has a beginning, middle, and end but not particularly in that order. Each song feels like it could kick off the album and end it as well. In this sense you can make the story whatever you want. Each new order brings a new dimension and adds a twist to the narrative in your head. It begins with the somber “Sober” and takes off from there. “Sober” does a good job of highlighting Niykee’s talents as a singer and songwriter and gives you a sense of the crisp production the album will bring. It feels as if Bad Intentions is Niykee’s way of discovering her voice at this stage of her life. It sounds as if she’s comfortable in her own skin but isn’t comfortable looking into a mirror. It’s almost as if you can tell she wants to make a good impression. This isn’t a bad thing by any stretch, it just sounds like Niykee is still finding her lane as an artist.
With Bad Intentions you can see the potential and that might be the most dangerous thing. It’s a solid album all the way through. Each song has meaningful lyrics and strong production but none of them feeling like the definitive Niykee song. Yet, each feel as if they’re scratching at something more. Bad Intentions is Niykee’s voice knocking on the door and you would be wise to let it in and take a listen.
Niykee Heaton sounds like an open book. You need to listen to the whole thing to get her entire side of the story. Bad Intentions is one hell of an introduction and shows that she is not only capable of experimenting but is also unafraid to do so as well. Here’s hoping after she’s found her lane, she won’t stop. I can’t wait for what she comes out with next but with a voice like that, it won’t matter what her intentions are.
