Melancholy and hope intertwine into jazz and indie tunes as Raavi & the House Plants explore the expectations and disappointments of growing up.
A child in small lederhosen and over-sized adult hiking boots stands on the cover of Raavi & the House Plants’ EP and i miss you already. Like its symbolic cover, the EP looks at the paradigm shift in a young adult’s life: the time when life is full of excitement and disappointment, love and heartbreak, concern and naivete. The band summarizes their EP as “four songs about growing up,” all of which are written from the point of view of lead singer Raavi Lucia, who uses these songs to confront her desires and disappointments. More than coming-of-age tunes, these four songs navigate Raavi’s contemplations on childhood while she grapples with the scary and exciting growing pains of adulthood.
and i miss you already feels like a personal live lounge band concert where listeners are let in on Raavi Lucia’s confessions and reflections. With an overall somber tone, the four songs on the EP incorporate indie, jazz, and blues influences to create songs that feel both earnest and blasé, particularly as the lyrics focus on Raavi’s relationships—romantic, familial, and friendly. This is certainly evident in “A Petty Waltz,” as the guitars pluck in a slow-paced ¾ time signature while lead singer Raavi nonchalantly sings about daisies and rain—later revealed to be a tactic that keeps her from thinking about heartache. With sufficiently ambiguous lyrics, this “petty waltz” reveals Raavi’s conflicted feelings about ending a relationship to pursue her artistic aspirations.
These pensive songs are especially intriguing thanks to Raavi’s blend of breezy, yet assertive, vocals. Even “All Over Again,” which sets itself apart from the other songs with its funky style, opens with Raavi singing effortless, jazzy vocals reminiscent of scat singing. The slightly off-beat singing, with quick runs and inflections, shows off Raavi’s ability to sing playful melodies just as well as the other somber tunes. And her quick, yodel-like flips into higher registers, similar to those of Alanis Morissette and Dolores O’Riordan, colors the songs with ethereal dynamics.
With these vocal tactics, the songs feel easygoing and smooth, but not without a sense of urgency. In “I Think I Want,” a calm, plucking guitar accompanies Raavi as she casually croons about her childhood friends and accepts the bittersweet reality that they have all grown apart. In the chorus she strongly wails, “Before this world swallows me whole / I think I want to live,” during which the drums and guitar punctuate each syllable. Singing through this heart-wrenching lyric into a grand crescendo, Raavi reveals that one of her deepest yearnings is to lead an exciting life. But the line “I think I want to live” underscores how Raavi is burdened with hesitation and doubt, especially as she comes to terms with her relationships and choices.
Raavi & the Houseplants’ EP and i miss you already explores how lead singer Raavi wants to simultaneously relive her carefree past and jump-start her adventurous future. This internal tug-of-war, where Raavi dwells on setbacks and craves spontaneity, is showcased in a mixture of cool, jazzy instrumentals interspersed with minor chord changes and woeful crescendos. and i miss you already is a mixed bag of glee and sorrow, improvisational jazz and meticulous rhythms—all of which highlight the emotional twists and turns of growing up.