We previously featured Piper Connolly for capturing the exhilaration of authentic human connection on her powerful single, Beautiful Life, so when we heard that the star was back with unapologetic, we were curious to say the least, and couldn’t wait to immerse ourselves in her universe once again.
unapologetic opens with a minimalist electric guitar riff as Piper sings, “Little reckless, over jealous, can’t help what I adore, love drunk, foolish, love drunk, clueless, what you waiting for?”. The opus expands with an infectious pop-rock energy as the guitars become increasingly animated and Piper’s vocals move between conversational intimacy and full-throttle melodic confidence.
We appreciate the lyrical perspective here, particularly the decision to embrace imperfection rather than attempting to package empowerment into something overly polished. Piper openly admits to being “little savage” and “over dramatic”, but there is no shame attached to these characteristics. Instead, they become part of the charm.
There is a gorgeous Y2K pop-rock nostalgia running through the track too, but Piper gives it a contemporary alt-pop gloss. We can hear echoes of the bratty confidence of Avril Lavigne, the theatrical pop-rock sensibilities of Paramore, and even some of the playful attitude associated with Olivia Rodrigo. Speaking on the release, Piper says, “It was a super, super natural writing process. It’s all about being yourself and not being sorry. This is who I am and I’m going to be myself, no matter what. Even if I’m flawed, I’m going to wear those flaws.”
“No I’m not sorry, I’m unapologetic…” feels designed to be screamed like a mantra and life philosophy, rather than quietly contemplated. There is something very Freaky Friday, Mean Girls, The Princess Diaries and 10 Things I Hate About You about the spirit of it.
Cinematically, we could also see unapologetic absolutely thriving in a coming-of-age film or teen series like Never Have I Ever, Heartstopper or Amazon’s new Legally Blonde prequel, Elle. It has that rare soundtrack quality and a great life message. Needless to say, we’re completely here for it, and unapologetic has been added to our New Music Spotlight, TIMELESS and TRIPPY playlists.