May-A Analysis Paralysis

The title Analysis Paralysis would suggest that MAY-A is somewhat of an overthinker in her private life. The deceptively deep introspection that winds its way through all seven tracks of the Sydney singer-songwriter’s sophomore EP would attest that, yes, the artist born Maya Cumming is a relentlessly thoughtful person. Moreover—and joyously so for listeners—the obsession with mid-relationship realisations on “Something Familiar” and “Your Funeral” is carried with a lyrically poetic grace that, much like Cumming’s overriding interest in unpacking what makes two people tick, never lets up. To that end, Analysis Paralysis is a stopped clock examining the timelessness and complexity of love—hoping to creak itself to life in doing so. When she intimates the world of hurt to come by singing “Leave me hangin’ like a keychain” on “LOLA”, one might be forgiven for not believing that Cumming was 21 years old at the time of recording. This precociousness also extends to her artistry: “Sweat You Out My System” sees her deploy a facility for rapid-fire wordplay never suggested by her watershed moment guesting with Flume on 2022’s “Say Nothing”, while “ifyoulikeitlikethat” attacks a former lover with such listenable viciousness, one almost feels pity for the object of its scorn. The hate passes in the wake of wondering. “Kiss me with your guilty conscience,” she croons on “Guilty Conscience”, ultimately realising with a strange ethereal relief that “It’s been a while since I thought I was gone/I can’t get back my time” on closer “SUPERIOR LIAR”.