Alt-Pop Is Alive And Well With Anna Margo’s “Aligned”

“I know you so well, you never knew me.” 

This past Friday, Los Angeles-based Anna Margo released her new single, “Aligned”. Rooted in her alt-pop sound, the music is stripped down and tastefully dark, with airy keyboards, live strings, and understated guitar licks atop a churning drum and bass grove that builds a dreamy bed of tension for Margo’s haunting vocals to lay on. 

While lesser singers use vocal effects as a crutch, they work great for Margo on “Aligned”. Teaming up with renowned engineer Koen Heldens, they find a lovely balance of treating her voice almost like a synth instrument, while still retaining the quality of her singing.

Margo herself is a classically trained pianist, with a main influence of hers being composer Hans Zimmer. The marriage of her original musical background along with her love of R&B and self-taught guitar playing and production leads to a pleasantly unique soundscape in her music.

“Every minute and every scar, was aligned from the start.”

This edgier take on the pop genre is a space I personally really enjoy and scratches an itch for me in a similar way that Billie Eilish’s first album does.

Along with the “Aligned” release is a highly cinematic music video directed and produced by Daniel Carberry (best known for Dua Lipa’s “Let’s Get Physical” video). The minimal set designs and geometric props and lighting fit the vibe of the song well, as does Margo’s stoically powerful physical performance.

It will be exciting to see the direction Margo takes from here as this is just the first single in her newest musical project, but in the meantime enjoy the short and darkly sweet “Aligned” out now on all platforms.