Lara Villani: Whiplash
Lara Villani’s Whiplash: A Pop-R&B Fever Dream That Hits Straight in the Gut
by Jack Rush
If heartbreak had a sound, it’d probably be Whiplash. The new EP from Melbourne artist Lara Villani doesn’t tiptoe around emotions; it throws you right into them. It’s five tracks of pure motion, where love feels like a car crash and self-love feels like finally walking away from the wreck.
Villani doesn’t just sing about the highs and lows; she embodies them. The opening track, “I Love It,” is all heat and heartbeat, the thrill of connection that makes you forget logic ever existed. Her vocals ride the beat like adrenaline, smooth, bold, slightly dangerous. It’s that first hit of dopamine that makes you want to hit replay before the song even ends.
Then, “Losing My Mind” takes the wheel and swerves straight into emotional chaos. It’s sultry, hypnotic, and haunting, like the moment when passion blurs into obsession. The production leans dark and spacious, giving Villani’s voice room to breathe and unravel at the same time. It’s late-night anxiety turned into art.
By “Make It Go Away,” the high has faded, and you’re left in the wreckage. This is Villani stripped bare, no gloss, no filter. The vulnerability in her delivery feels almost invasive, like you’ve stumbled into someone’s private confession booth. It’s the sound of trying to quiet the noise in your head while the world keeps spinning.
But Whiplash isn’t about staying stuck. “Second Chances” flips the energy completely, Villani’s glow-up anthem and the project’s most addictive track. It’s flirty, fast, and dripping in confidence, the sonic version of looking your ex dead in the eye and saying, “I’m good, actually.” The laundromat-set music video adds the perfect dose of cheeky realism, it’s everyday life turned cinematic, proof that empowerment doesn’t need to look polished to hit hard.
Finally, “Too Late” wraps the story up like a well-earned exhale. It’s elegant, defiant, and achingly real. “You push me to my limits that you won’t live within…” she sings, a line that cuts sharper the more you sit with it. It’s closure, but not the bitter kind, the kind that feels like freedom.
At its core, Whiplash is Villani’s manifesto. It’s what happens when a pop artist stops pretending and lets the truth do the heavy lifting. Co-written with Steven Harris, the project thrives on contrast, light and dark, hurt and healing, confidence and collapse. Each track mirrors the messy, nonlinear way people grow.
And that’s what makes it special, Whiplash doesn’t try to be perfect; it tries to be real. Lara Villani might have started this EP searching for herself, but by the final note, she’s already ten steps ahead, unapologetic, evolved, and dangerously self-aware.
Have a listen and connect with Lara Villani:
