There’s a spark behind GINAxC’s newest single, “Liar on Fire,” that is not just amazing but also strategic. This dark electropop number was penned for the current Eurovision cycle and is competing in the San Marino Song Contest. It doesn’t pursue glittery relief. It does, rather, cast itself into the torment of victory’s waiting game, those painful, breathless seconds before power shifts.
The first kick of electronic creation comes in a limited amount. The beat doesn’t blow up, it rolls on. Each synth line plays like a move in some psychological chess game. GINAxC plays it cool, which makes the song hit harder.
The song is tranquil but also stirring. There is no superfluous vocal acrobatics, liquid-y holding tones, or overwrought emoting. (That force is the source of the strength, a quiet power suggested in every phrase, which speaks not just of assuming power but also of taking it.) It’s the sound of resistance growing louder, of someone who has done the emotional math and decided that the age of control is behind him.
What distinguishes this track from other entries this year is that it doesn’t celebrate the freedom that has already been won. Rather, it occupies the more engaging and ambiguous field of combat. The production treads that fine line between tension and confidence, so that the sound is both urgent and feels in control.
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