Moscow Apartment Are Wise Beyond Their Years on 'Better Daughter' EP

Moscow Apartment can't be stopped. Since debuting in 2017 with the impossibly catchy "Annie," Brighid Fry and Pascale Padilla have been relentless in their delivery of pop folk ballads with harmonies so elegantly composed, you won't be able to settle on what part you prefer to sing along to. Their music is impressive regardless, but even more so given that they're both still teenagers.

Better Daughter is more of what has worked so far. To call it more of the same is not to dismiss or criticize the new material, rather it's to praise how consistent their discography is. Make no mistake: if you've encountered and enjoyed any Moscow Apartment song before now, you will adore every inch of this EP.

And while the on-paper formula is familiar, this batch of songs is unique in that it saw Fry and Padilla back away from co-writing with collaborators, instead keeping the lyric writing in-house. It shows, as these songs feel intensely personal. "Meredith Palmer" is a two-way vow of self-betterment between two parties ("I could be a better daughter / you could be a better son"). "New Girl" seems to navigate the singers' passage from adolescence into young adulthood and the immediate external pressures they face, particularly as women ("I'm a new girl now, I should show it off / I should walk myself down the block / Got a pocket knife, and a tablecloth").

On Better Daughter, Moscow Apartment solidify what's been obvious for years: that everyone ought to know and care about Moscow Apartment. With two EPs and a handful of singles that, added up, make for more than an LP's worth of music, there's no excuse not to give your undivided attention to this band. (Hidden Pony)