- Five Films to Watch About Stonewall … Besides Stonewall - 29 September, 2015
- Symphony: An interview with Raymond Yiu - 25 August, 2015
- Raymond Yiu’s Symphony to debut at BBC Proms - 12 August, 2015
So, I know I said the last Give It a Listen would be the last Give It a Listen for a while. However, sometimes you have to bring things back for one more edition – especially when there is good music involved.
So, I am bringing back Give It a Listen for one night only with new music from Lianna La Havas and PJ Bond.
Lianne La Havas – Unstoppable
Lianne La Havas is back with ‘Unstoppable’, the first single from her sophomore album Blood. Her previous album, Is Your Love Big Enough?, was an award-winning project that produced singles such as ‘Elusive’, ‘Lost & Found’ and ‘Forget’. La Havas’ album ultimately reached #4 on Album Charts in the United Kingdom.
La Havas’ new song is noticeably different than her previous material. While many of the well-known songs from her previous album take on a more acoustic and downbeat, this song is more mid-tempo and takes its notes hip-hop and neo-soul. Listeners may be able to draw some comparisons between this song and early material from Chrisette Michele. La Havas’ voice is as sultry and soulful as ever as she sings about the unbreakable bond of her relationship. On the other hand, the instrumentation perfectly complements her vocals to enable the listeners to feel how she does when she thinks about her relationship.
I can’t speak for anyone else, but I for one, am excited for the return of Lianne La Havas. Is Your Love Big Enough was a great album that helped her solidify her own space among the singers from the UK who made their way into the American musical landscape between 2011-2013. One can only hope Blood can live up to its predecessor.
PJ Bond – Everglades
PJ Bond is a singer and songwriter from New Jersey. He takes notes pop, rock and folk, and listeners can hear influences from all three. ‘Everglades’ is a new song from Bond’s new album, Where were you? The song pulls listeners in two different directions. The beat of the song takes on the classic rock and folk sound. It sounds light and cheery, and it will almost remind you of a song from groups in the 60s and 70s such as The Beatles and The Beach Boys. The lyrics, however, convey a completely different story. Bond is telling the story of domestic abuse with Bond saying he is willing to do away with the abuser and dump him in the Everglades. These two competing elements may catch some casual listeners off guard, but fans will recognize this style of music composition. And it’s that kind of storytelling that will help PJ Bond catch new listeners.
Well, that’s all for now. But that’s enough from me. What new music have you been listening to lately? Please feel free to let me know.
