It’s increasingly typical to hear in younger artists the influence of growing up online, with unlimited access to all kinds of music. As a result, pop over the past decade has often pushed into a space that offers more vibrancy and vastness, not tied to any particular genre. Certainly, that’s the case with emerging producer and singer-songwriter Spider, who makes brash but melodic alt and pop-rock with formidable lyrics, lush swathes of shiny electronics and pulsing drums.
There’s another layer to the influence of the internet on Spider’s output. Raised in Dublin in a strict Catholic household, she was banned from going to gigs; being of Nigerian origin in a predominantly white country, she felt isolated. So she fell deep down the looking-glass of internet pop fandom, finding community there, running stan accounts and teaching herself how to produce. When she turned 18, Spider moved to London, though her music path was a little slowed down by the pandemic.
Now 23, she is rightfully garnering attention with her exuberant, assured sound: 2021’s glorious single I’m Fine! I’m Good! I’m Perfect! was a glimmering interrogation of insecurity. Her latest release, the EP Hell or High Water, throbs with dissonant punk energy, bolstered with exquisite, yowling vocals that find the artist railing against industry expectations of who gets to make what kind of music (“Why you so scared?” she refrains on America’s Next Top Model). A thrilling, refreshingly left-field new voice in pop.
