EP REVIEW: Dylan reflects on overcoming hardship and finds self-acceptance on 'The Greatest Things I'll Never Learn' > Music Reviews > Music

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Following the success of her ‘No Romeo’ EP released in April 2022, Dylan has risen to fame, blowing everyone away with her beautiful songwriting and incredibly catchy choruses along the way. Having told us in 2019 that “bad b*tches beat heartbreak,” the 22-year-old is firmly sticking by this statement in her new EP, ‘The Greatest Thing I’ll Never Learn’, as she rolls her eyes and laughs in the face of bad relationships.

Posing herself as an honest songwriter, the mixtape explores themes of heartache, self-worth, and the idea of always reading into things. Despite revolving around heartache, in tracks such as ‘Girl Of Your Dreams’ and ‘Treat You Bad’, Dylan looks inwards at the parts she played in relationships. The unapologetic pop-rock ‘Girl Of Your Dreams’ finds Dylan pitching herself as the perfect girlfriend whereas the brutal honesty of the regret-filled anthem ‘Treat You Bad’ finds the singer-songwriter critically reflecting on how she acted towards a former partner and introspects on her own thought processes. The infectiously energetic tracks, while both channelling expectations that society has placed on females, beg to join infamous bedroom sing-along sessions that fuel your teenage angst.

With the art of soft pop-rock under her belt and her feet firmly planted on a solid base of propulsive guitar riffs and anthemic melodies, Dylan has poured all the chaos of her personal life into her lyrics. She continues to prove that her music is worth more than just a catchy chorus with her snappy sense of humour and alternative edge making each track just as unpredictable and gripping as the last whilst she works her way up out of the depths of heartbreak to emerge vulnerable and yet stronger for it.

Digging at a naive lover who is yet to catch a hint, ‘Nothing Lasts Forever’ is laced with comically mischievous lyricism. As Dylan turns being against everyone and everything into a glorious jam, touching on the idea of abandonment issues throughout, she certainly takes on a role, whether it be true to herself or an imagined carefree character as she sings: “You say that you care about me / Calm down, it's been under two weeks / Stop trying to fix whatever you think you see / When you see nothing at all.”

The pop-rock facade seems to fall away when the final track, ‘Home Is Where The Heart Is’, starts up as, alongside ‘Blisters’, the ballad is the only real glimpse of an emotion that Dylan has otherwise managed to keep at arms length. The acoustic track makes for a quieter ending, one that makes the rest of the mixtape feel bigger, but also captures the reality of how quick it is to be laughing about something one minute and to then feel completely heartbroken the next. The boisterously upbeat EP, up until this point, explores a refreshing mixture of emotions making it impossible for you not to root for Dylan. She truly is one to watch.

Dylan’s debut mixtape ‘The Greatest Thing I’ll Never Learn’ is out now.
4/5