Music analysis: An artist to watch - Portraits of Tracy

This Louisiana-raised singer-songwriter released their newest project, an EP called ‘Q: From Where Do Our Primal Instincts Originate From? A: MTV!’ at the end of July. 

It is a project that defies genres and demonstrates that you can't predict what she will release, writes Music News Blitz’s Brianna Ngambi.

The humble beginning

Their journey in music began in 2020, when she released her first track, ‘Lucy’s theme’, but she first gained traction in 2023 with her song, ‘The Party’, which had its moment on TikTok and got her name out to a new audience. 

At this point, it has reached almost 20 million streams, which is very exciting for a new artist forging their way in the industry. 

This song and ‘Drive Home ’, the album she released that year, according to Portraits of Tracy in Flaunt magazine, “served as a literal lifeline”. 

As she became comfortable with her identity as a transgender woman, she was kicked out of her family’s home. 

But this harsh period of her life did not kill her spirit, and by utilising the lifeline her music had gifted her, she was able to continue doing what she loved. 

While settling into her new life in Los Angeles, she began listening to 60s rock such as the Beach Boys and these sonic influences went on to inspire her newest EP in its instrumentals and vocal production. 

This was a change from her other discography that focused heavily on storytelling, which, as a person wanting to understand their identity, makes a lot of sense. 

Now, singing and producing herself, she is able to explore other genres freely and create a body of work that reflects her array of musical influences. 

The new EP

This 6-track EP is something out of the ordinary, blending Riot Grrrl, Alternative Rock and punk elements, with a run time of only 20 minutes. 

Despite that, she manages to showcase why she is someone to watch, as every track is unique and fresh and the effort put in can be heard. 
The era began with the release of the song, ‘Caught In a Jam,’ accompanied by a visualizer that is essentially a love letter to MTV, which is seen within the title of the extended project. 

The video begins with the MTV logo in the 80s, but in the shape of Portraits of Tracy’s name. 

The majority of the visualizer is the artist in a space suit, with space buns reminiscent of Princess Leia from Star Wars, keeping it very 80s.

The space suit is in direct reference to the MTV astronaut, also known as “Moon Man”, who was the symbol of the network’s debut. 

In this very first broadcast, the network featured Apollo 11 footage of an astronaut planting a flag with the MTV logo on it. 

As well as the inspiration from MTV itself, her vast musical influences can be heard in this track, with elements of the Beach Boys in the section with stacked harmonies, synth straight from the 80s and parts that remind me of the Cocteau Twins.

This sound, which is clearly inspired but tasteful and remains fresh and true to her, is seen throughout the EP. 

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Tracks that stand out

The song, ‘This song may or may not be about an Alt-Right Influencer,’ is heavily punk, with Riot Grrrl elements.

It is the second track of the EP and acts as the introduction to the genre-defying experience that the audience is about to go on. 

This track, according to Flaunt magazine, “a musical middle finger to a neo-nazi influencer”, Portraits of Tracy had come across in the making of this ep. 

This is very typical of the Riot Grrrl genre, which combined raw punk music with a do-it-yourself attitude to publishing and producing to challenge the male dominance in punk.

Those in this genre often tackled social issues surrounding women and Portraits of Tracy utilizes this to address neo-nazis and other alt-right influencers, who have harmful views on women. 

Another track that stands out is ‘My life is loving you’, which is a lush ballad, differing greatly from the rest of the tracks sonically but keeping to the sound of tasteful inspiration that is seen within every song of the EP. 

This song is very reminiscent of Björk and Queen, with its production and usage of strings and piano. The rising strings are truly a magical moment. 

Around the 2:40 mark, there is a drum breakdown that must also be mentioned, as it feels very passionate and aligns with the topic of the song, loving someone very deeply. 

This song is also a cover of a song of the same name by Rose Banks in 1976, which was sampled by one of her early inspirations, Kanye West, who used it in his second album.

This just shows that her array of musical influences has continued to inspire her music and has made her someone to watch, as I see an artist who has only just begun to show their greatness. 

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