Cate Tomlinson defies the woes of heartbreak and betrayal in the remarkable EP "The Side Effects of You."

Agony can serve as a powerful initiative for creators to come up with something equally potent and cathartic; indie artist Cate Tomlinson has done just that with her gutsy and bold EP "The Side Effects of You." Not afraid to record the bitter truth of dealing with misery and heartache, the talented songstress offers a glimmer of hope to those navigating through similar tragedies— not conforming to conventions with direct, upfront songwriting and genre-diverse tracklist.

The LA-based singer-songwriter has crossed several milestones already since her debut single in 2022— releasing music consistently while setting herself apart with a darker, moody variant of alt-pop— this trademark has magnetized an audience large enough to fill out an arena; the American singer-songwriter has thousands of monthly listeners enamored on Spotify alone, as her seminal EP "Blueberry season" brought tremendous success with the lead track "so cool and so mean." The upbeat punk-rock track has garnered over a million plays already, in which the vocalist unabashedly discloses her crush on a girl with a badass and attractive persona ("So cool so mean, So far out of my league...Found myself a real neck breaker").

"Side Effects of You" prevails mainly due to this unrestrained art of straightforward lyricism that Cate has refined, shown right from the opener "The Ring of Fire": an ominous timbre is conjured, as the vocalist doesn't flinch in breaking rules and being indulgently sinful for love ("Taste that poison and drink that wine/He'll wait on the other side"); the production operates on a pop-trap groove with a gritty tonality, served with compelling hooks. After that, "MY EX FRIEND" is an acrimonious and spiteful tune centering on a betrayal from a close friend— despite the vengeful words, the rendition remains ensnaring. 

"Like the boys" has an upbeat temperament with nu-disco-leaning electro-pop arrangements, carrying main choruses with luminous 80s-nostalgic synths and romantic, heady vocals; this is an ear-worm meant to be put on the radio while driving during after-hours. We part ways from the EP with the titular track, where Cate's vulnerable and featherlike vocals shine the most over elevated strings in an emotive, heart-wrenching ballad ("I'm so bitter I forget to breathe....always suffer from the side effects of you").

Listen to "The Side Effects of You" on Spotify and YouTube, and stay tuned with Cate Tomlinson on Instagram.