News, Reviews

Dexter Shares New Track & Video “I Like Me” + Announces Debut EP “I Do Love A Good Sandwich”

July 12, 2021
Photo Credit: Lucy Hickling

DEXTER ANNOUNCES DEBUT EP  “I DO LOVE A GOOD SANDWICH

SHARES LATEST TRACK & VIDEO ‘I LIKE ME

South West London’s dexter announced her debut EP and shares her latest track and video ‘I Like Me’. The I Do Love A Good Sandwich EP, which includes previous single ‘Blue Skies’, is due for release on Wednesday, August 4th on newly-launched creative incubator Common Knowledge via AWAL. dexter is the moniker of 18-year-old Charmaine, who first arrived with a series of self-uploads in 2020 that were created entirely on her phone. They caught the attention of the likes of Annie Mac and Sian Eleri on BBC Radio1, and were independently picked up by playlists including Spotify’s Fresh Finds and Our Generation, of which dexter was recently the cover. 

The upbeat upstrokes start and immediately this compelling elevated ambiance starts to relish whilst hooking the audience. This vibrant atmosphere progresses and once Dexter’s immersive vocal notes join the creation the energy simply explodes. As we’ve stated before, dexter is such a visionary artist bringing their unique authenticity to their creations. The new single “I Like Me” exudes charm, confidence, and character whilst maintaining this expressive arrangement which consistently oozes this soulful and feel-good vibe. The intimate and insightful lyrics create this friction amongst the melody. Dexter captures the reflective thoughts we all internally say to ourselves every day and by capturing that air of comparison we fight with, Dexter delivers this emotional and reflective tone, fighting up against that feel-good energy the instrumentation persues. The cathartic words “I Like Me” is the outcome we all deserve.

‘I Like Me’ is anchored by an addictively simple two-chord guitar lick, which provides the perfect backdrop for dexter’s conversational lyrics as she reflects on the relationship between individual expression and the desire for validation. Working again with director Amity Bloc, the video for ‘I Like Me’ sees dexter riding around London in a classic car. dexter comments “‘I Like Me’ is about me feeling like I have to be a certain way to make boys like me or to feel more ‘like a girl’. I was inspired by a period of time in lockdown where I found myself trying to buy a bunch of clothes that would be make me feel more feminine and girly but I didn’t even like half the stuff I was buying. I would like it to let listeners know that girls shouldn’t have to act a certain way to feel like they are still feminine or worth people liking them and that it’s cool to be both girly and not girly.”

‘I Like Me’ and ‘Blue Skies’ represent a natural progression for dexter following her previous phone-recorded tracks including ‘Maybe the Problem Is Me’ and ‘Same Way‘, which together have amassed over one million combined streams. Amongst all of the growing attention and acclaim, Charmaine had kept her project entirely a secret, working under the name ‘dexter’ anonymously. A recent reveal to her family has meant the project is less shrouded in secrecy, however the alias has stuck and dexter has firmly arrived. With the recent acquisition of a second hand MacBook and her first vocal mic, she is in the final throes of her A Levels whilst preparing for her EP’s release. On her debut body of work, dexter comments “I chose the name I Do Love A Good Sandwich because I like sandwiches, you can never go wrong with a good sandwich. It doesn’t mean anything deep, I literally just like sandwiches! I’m very excited for the EP to come out because it’s my first actually properly published body of work. I made the songs a few months ago so I’m excited to finally have them come out and for people to hear it.”

Capturing a raw sense of youthful melancholy and a bittersweet self-awareness, dexter’s latest tracks will no doubt resonate with her audience and beyond. Her debut EP also sees dexter team up with Common Knowledge, who are dedicated to funding and supporting independent artists in their most formative releases.

https://www.instagram.com/dexterinthenewsagent/

https://twitter.com/dexternewsagent?s=21

You Might Also Like

No Comments

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.