Track Review: Bree Runway Is Back To Apply Some "Pressure"

2021 was relatively quiet on the music front for Bree Runway. In addition to the launch of her summer anthem "HOT HOT" and her win for Best New International Act at the BET Awards, Bree appeared on tracks alongside artists like Lady Gaga ("Babylon"), Glass Animals ("Space Ghost Coast to Coast"), and fellow Bulletin Awards nominee Amorphous ("The Vibe"). 2022 is already looking to be a banner music year for the "ATM" songstresses as she kicks off February with the release of her brand new single: "Pressure."

Produced by Nami, "Pressure" leads with pensive guitar licks before transforming into a sparse, percussive soundscape. In a press release about the song, Bree mused, "I love how this song embodies everything I am. It oozes Africa with the rhythm of the drums, the attitude, the assurance." She's exactly right. The drums are what make "Pressure." They're brooding yet inviting in the way that they simultaneously inspired dancing and invoke warnings. With "HOT HOT," Bree settled on themes of self-confidence and empowerment. "Pressure" follows a similar thematic path, but with an angle of using that self-confidence to outdo anybody in any room. The effervescence of "HOT HOT" has evolved into demands for respect and flowers. "No matter what you do, you gon' pay ya respect when a bitch comes through / I don’t make the rules, I just make 'em all gag when I step in thе room," she croons on the song's sublime pre-chorus.

"Pressure" pairs exceptionally well with its fashionable Nadira Amrani-directed music video. Nevertheless, on its own, the track seems to build towards a climax that never quite comes because the production remains relatively unchanged throughout the track's duration. If anything, this feels like the first installment in something much greater — and it is. The track is subtitled "Chapter 1" in the music video, and it's been described as the first in a "trilogy of releases."

"Pressure" is out now on EMI.

Score: 70