With help from Charli XCX, the Toronto-based singer stretches big-tent pop music in her own image on a messy but tuneful mixtape.
Elio introduced herself in 2020 with a dreamy, surprisingly depressing bedroom pop song. “I just want my friends online to be around me when I die,” the 23-year-old artist sang in an airy upper register on “My Friends Online,” about hanging out in public while anxiety-ridden over virtual relationships. The song quickly tapped into generational internet ennui while simultaneously revealing the singer’s pop star ambitions. Elio’s studied songwriting and self-production come from an adolescence playing in a shoegaze band and listening to artists ranging from Ariana Grande to Mazzy Star, leading to a genre fusion that lends her sugary songs some alt-rock nerve. “My Friends Online” eventually earned her cosigns from phenoms like Troye Sivan and Charli XCX, the latter of whom joined her team as a creative consultant to provide the Toronto-based singer with a sounding board for new music. The management choice paid off: Elio’s stickiest songs, like last year’s irrepressible “Charger,” now amplify her relatable themes with Charli-lite hooks. But it’s Elio’s cool delivery, swerving from a conversational lilt to a bratty shout, that makes her music appealing in its own right.
On new mixtape Elio’s Inferno, she steps toward elastic, party-starting pop with a bolder sense of humor. Shaking off some of the more downtempo, Clairo-like balladry of last year’s Can You Hear Me Now? EP, Elio instead focuses on how far she can stretch big-tent pop music in her own image. Elio co-wrote and co-produced all of the songs here, a few of which zero in specifically on her experiences in the industry. The swaggering “Typecast” adopts a lurching beat and menacing vocal delivery to bluntly chew out critics who pigeonhole her. “No, I don’t wanna write like that/I checked the vibe and you didn’t pass,” she sings matter-of-factly. She ratchets up the bravado on the strident “Godly Behavior,” whose production sounds lifted from Britney’s Darkchild era. Elio shoots off boasts about her self-worth that double down on her newfound clout: “Want a feature on the next release/Wanna party with me at Charli’s,” she taunts, offering a winking self-awareness that freely indulges in the image people may hold of her.
The bright spots on Elio’s Inferno are occasionally overshadowed by its more overwieldy lyrics. The Harry Styles name drop on “Inferno” immediately dates it, while the laidback, guitar-laced “New and Improved” aims for self-improvement after a breakup through a misguided hodgepodge of schmaltzy metaphors. Elio attempts to walk a fine lyrical line; even “Vitamins,” with its charming, winding melodies, falls victim to a distractingly overwrought chorus: “I want you the way I take my vitamins,” she coos alarmingly, “Every day or I die a little.”
Elio succeeds when she dials toward a brighter, more featherlight style of pop, like the fizzy club kiss-off “9 Lives” or the delectable love song “Superimpose.” Both tap into the sped-up rush of emotion she’s trying to well up in listeners while offering tuneful dance-pop in the process. Elio’s Inferno isn’t breaking much new ground, but it’s a pleasurable confection from an upstart eager to make her claim, however messy that process might be.
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