A Pop Album That Commands Attention: ‘Miss Behaves’ by Cece Natalie
“do you love my persona? this is not a performance”
In recent times, the key word for describing music in the streaming era is ‘oversaturated’ — so many artists are trying to catch your attention, that most of them won’t. It's rare to find music that resonates in a way that demands your full focus. You’ve not only got recommendations from social media, but also the algorithms from streaming services pushing lots of new faces and sounds. I’ve already got 3 playlists full to the max of music recommendations. Hence why it’s such a joy to find a lesser known artist doing something unique and different to other current music. Selfishly, I love finding smaller artists so that I can see their shows at smaller venues too! Nothing I love more than a £20 gig in a 400 capacity venue…. I can’t help myself :p
I came across “Miss Behaves”, Cece Natalie’s debut album, as a recommendation from
at The Lizard Review — brilliant music writer and commentator, also the co-host of THE Taylor Swift podcast — in a “Favourite Albums of 2024” list and casually put it in my ‘albums to listen to’ playlist. Shortly after, she made a whole podcast episode about this artist, so I knew I had to listen to the album as soon as possible. At the end of a work day, I put this on and as I listened to the first song, I was already impressed by the music. It’s been a long time since I’ve listened to a full album AND kept every song on constant rotation for weeks!I am a sucker for pop music, so this is an album made for ME. These songs are full of earworm melodies and lyrics; a perfect hybrid of pop, dance and electronic. There is sonic depth starting from the first song, Limit, with its layered vocals and resonating beat; it feels like I could physically sink into it. This music is made to be moved to; my first thoughts when listening was of a dance class with some flawless choreography — Tate McRae live performance vibes. The album is supported with very few visuals, only Instagram photos and short looping videos on Spotify. Yet I can picture the music videos; the red car, a petrol station in middle America, walking through the city at night with the girls…
This is the kind of ‘hot girl’ album I’ve been waiting for. I’ve heard glimpses of this sound and energy in songs, but never throughout an entire album. FINALLY!!! Creative persona is a fascination of mine, especially within an album or entire discography. The Cece Natalie project is the epitome of the confident woman that many may aspire to be; self-assured, charismatic, sassy, just the right amount of elusive. Even when she’s harsh or delusional or furious, her character has a magnetic quality. There’s also hints of a more sinister side to Natalie. She writes “stuff out in blood” in I get mad, she hits men giving her unwanted attention with “that mace in [her] pocket” in Oh Oh, she’s a self-proclaimed “unrestricted psycho mess” in Ambulance. There is a complexity to the character, which I hope is explored further in what she creates next.
Natalie is singular in the pop sphere as it is right now. There are elements reminiscent of other songs and artists, mostly from the early 2000s and 2010s, without sounding like an imitation. I hear FΛSHION by Britney Manson in Limit, Hollaback Girl by Gwen Stefani in Team Cece and 2 On by Tinashe in Exiting. There are echoes of Ciara, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Heidi Montag, Kesha, even a little bit of Lana Del Rey in her trap-inspired songs. Despite this, she is unapologetically doing her own thing and making music with the Cece Natalie signature.
Her art is refreshing — it has not been impacted by a pressure to write ballads or ‘deep’ songs to become a ‘serious artist’. The album is the embodiment of a self-assured persona who still fixates on situations she hasn’t let go, most notably the guy who doesn’t want her back in 754. In this interview, Natalie says she considers her debut album “carnival music”, which she describes as what “plays at a carnival when you’re having fun”. While initially seeming like an unusual description, I understand what she’s going for. This album would play in spaces where you can let go and enjoy yourself, just like a carnival, club, or beach bar on holiday.
We are witnessing the rise of more stars than ever who have the backing of record labels to create music with the support of well-accredited peers and a curated social media feed to accompany it. There is some originality that gets lost in the search to give every artist a ‘brand’. Cece Natalie feels like a return to genuine music creation without searching for a ‘blow up’ moment, just writing and producing music because the passion is too great to be contained.
Part of me would love to see someone offer Natalie some budget — high quality photography for the cover art, access to a professional studio, a team to enable her to tour, inspired music videos. However, part of what makes this music stand out to me is how ordinary and real the means of creating the album were. It was made at home in a studio apartment while her mother was at work during the week, recording vocals in the car, coming up with song ideas while swimming in a pool after getting high… there is a relatability about her that makes you reflect about what circumstances it takes to make great music. It’s less than we are made to believe. You don’t need to have access to all the best people and lots of money, a bold idea and a commitment to learn and execute when ready is the best place to start. Choosing to release music when it’s not perfectly polished by a mixer, or paired with a genius marketing campaign and a significant social media presence, is a sign of her character and commitment to create.
One thing is for certain……… if (or when) she starts touring, I will be front row at the first London show!
Stream Cece Natalie’s debut album “Miss Behaves” wherever you get your music. She has more recently released a compilation album “Recycling Bin Collection 2” and her prior singles including “Miracle” and “Fashion Baby”.
Spotify | Apple Music | Amazon Music | YouTube Music | SoundCloud
So passionate. I love your writing style. CECE is on my playlist.
Amazing post. I did not know about her music before, now I will check her out 😄