A voice adorned with crisp vocals, raspiness and sharp agility compliments the emotional stories embedded between the lyrics of Sienna Spiro’s debut album “Visitor”. The carefully thought out songs on this album have the ability to capture the attention and feelings of the listener while Spiro unveils her emotions. This record shows the talent in Spiro’s ability to craft a powerful, poetic and sad song. However, Spiro’s capabilities as an artist have not been perfected. Regardless, the record shows lots of potential for Spiro’s career.
“Visitor” is filled with 10 tracks conveying the emotional and mental weight of Spiro’s personal life. The majority of the songs on this album are thought provoking and somewhat heavy. If you’re not a fan of somber music, this might not be the record for you. Sad music has been on the rise for a while as global pop stars continue releasing emotional music. These songs are widely received as monumental to the music industry. An example of this would be singer and songwriter Olivia Rodrigo’s third studio album, “You seem pretty sad for a girl so in love”. This trend of sad pop music could foreshadow a promising future for Spiro, whose hits have been praised for their emotional depth.
Spiro’s music isn’t just emotionally powerful because of the melodies or lyrics. Upon first listening to “Visitor”, one particular thought lived in my head: something about her voice feels very nostalgic. Her raspy yet powerful voice creates an ambience in this album that made me feel like I was being taken back to a very young age. It is not necessarily because of her songs, but rather the similarities her voice has to other artists. Her voice is reminiscent of both Adele and Amy Winehouse. To me, that is what makes her music feel so nostalgic: the voice behind it sounds exactly like singers from a decade ago. Spiro’s voice is truly beautiful and technically trained. She has the ability to sing high – both healthily and powerfully – and delicately dance around notes, making vocal runs sound seamless.
Spiro’s raspy and powerful voice accompanies her emotional writing style perfectly. On her song “We’re Not In Love”, her voice sounds like she’s on the verge of crying. This truly adds a personal touch to the music she creates, making her songs feel like a diary that listeners get to peek into. The chorus of this song builds off of the delicate and intimate sound of her voice in the beginning with powerful belts and quick runs. Her ability to use her voice to create an extra layer of storytelling is something that makes Spiro’s music stand out.
However, “Visitor” is not a perfect album. With it being Spiro’s debut, the album lacks in consistent groundbreaking performance and falls flat compared to other albums being released this summer. Some songs on the album don’t push the boundaries regarding lyricism since some lyrics are mediocre or weak. This does not meet the demand of sad music lovers for emotional depth and strong storytelling in emotional songs. In one of Spiro’s songs, “Time, You & Me”, the lyrics in the chorus feel complicated in a way that isn’t as thought provoking as a hard hitting sad lyric. She sings, “Time waits for no one, naturally. If we could be no one, we could be free. Time, you and me.” The lyrics here lack the depth that many other songs on “Visitor” have, and the song becomes a weak link in a lineup that has many emotional and lyrically intricate ballads. I’m not trying to diminish Spiro’s writing, as she has lyrics that serve as a true testament to her ability to write a sad song. It’s because we’ve seen her melancholic and beautiful lyrics that the weak lyrics on this album take away from what “Visitor” could be.
Additionally, a lot of the songs on this album lack the ability to stand out from the rest, with some songs blending in and feeling unmemorable and almost redundant. When I listened to the album a second time, there were only a few songs that I remembered standing out to me. The rest of her songs didn’t have as much individuality behind them. If you didn’t recognize the singles from this album (I only listened to two of them before listening to the whole record), it might not be easy to tell the difference between songs like “You Stole The Show” and “The Visitor”. Don’t get me wrong, both of these songs pack a powerful emotional punch and their lyricism outshines many songs on “Visitor”. However, the two songs begin with an orchestral intro before gently moving into a somber piano line. The lack of individuality blends the two songs together, which is unfortunate considering the powerful performance in both of them.
“Visitor” is by no means a bad album. Spiro shows a lot of promise in various songs on this record that point to a monumental songwriting career. To me, one song which was released as a single back in July of 2025 outshines the rest of the songs on this record. It is a true testament to Spiro’s ability and the most emotional song on the album. “You Stole The Show” has stuck with me from the moment I first listened to it; it is not only introspective and powerful, but nostalgic and creative. The vocals on this song feel nostalgic because of the way the rasp and tonality remind me of Adele. This song’s melancholic lyrics also fit the message of the album in feeling like a temporary romantic addition to someone’s life. Spiro sings, “Wrap me in your arms again, the adrenaline makes me shiver. Show me that you’re genuine, that I’m safe again, that you came here different.”
The genuine sadness within this line shines as a powerful yet relatable insight on the desire to return to someone that you want dearly but isn’t necessarily the best choice. The ability to weave the album’s message into such a profoundly deep line really captivates Spiro’s talent of writing sad music.
For being as young as she is, Spiro shows great potential for writing somber music. “Visitor” does a great job of tying personal experiences to a common theme around Spiro’s life. Where “Visitor” loses its ability to break through the noise is how some songs feel less powerful and thought out than others. If Spiro continues to write melodramatic ballads with thoughtful lyrics like the strong songs on this record, the future for her career is bright and hopeful.
