Review Summary: losing her sparkly pink footing
Whatever shock factor Scene Queen brought to Vol. 1 is heavily sanitized and filtered for Vol. 2. She plays it much safer with accessible pop choruses, and smoother bops this time around. With the gun no longer to the throat, the fun is also gone. She had an interesting thing in the first EP with the crunkcore/nu-metal genre confusion: an interesting premise not reaching its potential in Vol. 2. Barbie & Ken and Pink Hotel bring back the original vibe, but Pink Hotel can’t help sounding like a basic retreading with cheap substance. Barbie & Ken is the exception of the album: a quirky, flirty song that does its title justice.
This EP is a plastic copy of Bimbocore. The screams on offer are not hitting as hard, and it’s mostly because all surprises are gone. We know what’s going to happen: a hip-hop verse and then some hard riffs. Around the corner is another poppy chorus too. Aside from the couple surprises in the last two songs, Scene Queen’s edge is lost. Whereas Bimbocore had a shock factor, none of that translates here. The sound dynamics are as predictable as a WWF fight.
They sounded like they meant what they said/sang in Bimbocore, but in Vol. 2 there’s a lack of care; their delivery isn’t hitting any more. We learn in this EP that they can sing well, but where’s the drama from Bimbocore? Even the lyrics are 1-2 easy stuff. This is the same person that said in the previous EP, “Label said to watch the way I talk, but I’m about to pop. ***ing pop off”. That sassy person has been replaced with a recycled drone. Scene Queen is back to give the fans what they want, minus sounding as fresh and jazzed to make music. Scene Queen is not talentless, but they’re going through motions with glitz over substance. This EP is a huge misstep, and missed opportunity.
