Category: trip hop

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Yul Shares Subtle Yet Brooding Remix of Sylvain Hellio’s “Nous étions heureux”

Sylvan Hellio is a Rennes, France-based artist, who released his debut EP, L’homme du bois through Résiste Records back in 2023. The EP featured “Nous étion heuruex,” a broodingly atmospheric trip hop-like lullaby anchored around twinkling guitar and skittering beats and Hellio’s dreamy delivery.

Yul recently remixed “Nous étions heureux,” but his remix manages to be subtle: Yul retains Hellio’s dreamy delivery and much of the original production but the brooding air is emphasized through the addition of a supple bass line, and bit of 808 kick. The result is a remix that feels a bit murkier and eerier.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy 59th Birthday, Beth Gibbons!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Portishead frontman Beth Gibbons’ 59th birthday.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Daniel Higley Shares Tense and Uneasy “Ultimatum”

Daniel Higley is an emerging, American-born, German-based artist. His latest single, the Brook Fraser-produced “UItimatum” Portishead-like track featuring a supple and propulsive bass line, eerie atmospheric synths that serves as a broodingly uneasy bed for British vocalist Gen’s Beth Gibbons-like delivery. The song manages to capture our exceedingly urgent and anxious zeitgeist with an uncannily lived-in precision.

Higley explains that “‘Ultimatum,’ was created with the sense of anxiety that all my friends have been going through. It seemed to be a common theme going around my circle. This moment in time seems very important, and pivotal. This is a call to action for those feelings of anxiety, and worry. This is life giving you an ultimatum. It’s saying you need to be focused, and not too extreme to get through it.

“The line ‘not too far left, not too far right’ is from the feelings after the US election, and the state of politics in the USA, and the world. Being on a side doesn’t allow one to see clearly. We’ve never seen so much tension, war, and mistrust in our lifetimes. So basically, the theme is this is something you can’t avoid, and you can either let it sweep you away, or you can use all theknowledge and training you’ve had to this point to get through. Be centered. Stay in the light and be present.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Homer Teams Up with girl named GOLDEN on Woozy “Wishing Well”

Acclaimed New York-born and-based drummer, songwriter and producer Homer Steinweiss has a storied career that started in earnest when he was just a teenager. He has been instrumental in helping bring the raw-but-receptive soul sound back into the mainstream through his work with Amy Winehouse, Sharon Jones and Charles Bradley. Steinwess has also been behind the kit for nearly every contemporary soul outfit that has mattered. 

The New York-born and-based musician is now one of the most in demand drummers in the world, playing with the likes of Clairo, Solange, Adele, Silk Sonic and Bruno Mars, among a lengthy list of others. And much like his longtime bandmate Dave Guy, Steinweiss is stepping into the spotlight as a both a musician and producer with Ensatina, his first solo album released under the moniker Homer. 

Slated for a November 15, 2024 release through Big Crown Records, Ensatina is reflection of who Steinweiss is now and a testament of how struggle often brings about much-needed changes. He was dealing with considerable emotional turbulence; at the same time that his band Holy Hive broke up, a long-personal relationship fell apart, putting him in an uncertain place mentally. The fallout was significant enough for him to seek professional help. “I was going through these super manic highs and then very depressive lows,” Steinweiss explains. “And being in all that, it’s just so tough to imagine that the other side is there, that it’ll be ok.” But, with time, professional help, and support from friends and family, Homer made it through and has been forever changed. This album is a product of that period of his life.

For Steinweiss, creating the album was a refuge, and it put him back on track. Creatives across the world have an innate understanding of that. But the album is also a glimpse into the different energies that influences that make the man and the artist tick. And fittingly, the album is the beginning of a new, interesting chapter of Steinweiss’ life and career. 

So far I’ve written about three of Ensatina‘s singles:

  • “Deep Sea,” feat. Hether, a slow-burning and woozy love song set over a hypnotic back beat, a gorgeous, dreamy trumpet line and a strummed acoustic guitar line. The lush and meditative arrangement compliments Hether’s dreamily romantic delivery and lyrics, which includes a sweet nod to Steinwess now wife. The song seems to suggest that when we’re struggling in life’s deep sea, love — in all of its forms — can be the lifeline. 

  • “Rollin‘” a lush and swaggering Quiet Storm-like soundscape with skittering and plinking 808s, broodingly regal horns, bursts of strummed guitar and KIRBY’s ethereal delivery, which alternates between scatting and cooing lyrics over the lush production. 

  • “So Get Up!,” a strutting and swaggering bit of hook-driven genre-blurring funk anchored around dusty and skittering boom bap, twinkling synth oscillations and glistening and arpeggiated synth melodies serving as a lush and euphoric bed for MINOVA’s and Michael Rault‘s ethereal and expressive deliveries. Sonically resembling a slick synthesis of 80s synth funk, Rush Midnight and Tame Impala, “So Get Up!” reveals an artist with an adept production style. 

Ensatina‘s fourth and latest single “Wishing Well” featuring girl named GOLDEN is a brooding track anchored around a trippy yet soulful groove that’s influenced by late Miles Davis-like jazz, electronic music, soul and trip-hop paired with skittering and chugging drums and glistening synths serving as a woozily lush soundscape for girl named GOLDEN’s sultry cooing. Much like its immediate predecessor, “Wishing Well” reveals an artist with a unique, playfully genre agnostic sound.

The song is accompanied by a trippy video featuring the album’s namesake lizard Ensatina, done in 3D animation by Alex Cascone.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Nessi Gomes Shares Brooding and Cinematic “Moving Mirrors”

Guernsey-born and-based singer/songwriter Nessi Gomes is a Channel Island-Portuguese singer/songwriter, whose work draws from both sides of her ethnicity, the essence of the traditional, emotional Fado of Portugal with British modern, progressive pop.

Gomes’ full-length debut, 2016’s Diamonds & Demons received airplay and critical praise across the European Union and the UK, and was supported by touring across 30 countries that included stops across the major global festival circuit, as well as major stages.

Simultaneously, she created the growing Vocal Odyssey workshop and retreat series, which encourages participants to meet with the spirt of their voice. And since creating it, thousands of participants have experienced the process under her guidance.

Over the past seven-and-a-half years, Gomes and her work have amassed over 70 million streams across the major DSPs. However, her latest single “Morning Mirrors” marks a change in direction sonically and aesthetically. Featuring buzzing bass synths, strummed acoustic guitar, skittering beats and percussion, bursts of twinkling electronics, “Morning Mirrors” is a built around brooding Portishead-meets-Kid-A-era Radiohead-like production that serves as eerily lush and cinematic bed for Gomes’ soulful crooning.

Gomes explains that this own is a unique and experimental piece that fearlessly confronts toxic femininity while exploring themes of jealousy, comparison and the painful consequences they bring. “The song reflects my personal journey, reflecting light on the challenges faced when experiencing both sides of the coin,” Gomes says. “It uncovers the unconscious insecurities of some women who seek validation by tearing others down. ‘Morning Mirrors’ is a powerful call to challenge these destructive patterns and strive for a culture of support and empowerment among women. It advocates for empathy, understanding, and the need to foster a community where women uplift and empower one another.”

Directed by Yuval Nobelman and Alon Daniel, the accompanying video for “Moving Mirrors” was filmed in Guernsey on 16mm film, and features dancers and actors, who like Gomes are residents of the island battling each other in a WWE-styled battle royal.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: JOVM Mainstays The Lovelines Share Woozy “Make Believe (Life Is Such A Dream)”

Currently split between Berlin and  Orlando, the JOVM mainstays The Lovelines — the sibling duo of Tessa D (vocals) and Todd Goings (multi-instrumentalist, songwriting and prodution) — have released material from their forthcoming full-length debut single-by-single. 

Over the past handful of months, I’ve written about five of the album’s singles:

  • “May Be Love,” a slow-burning torch song-like take on trip hop and neo-soul built around shimmering pedal steel and congo-led percussion paired with Tessa D’s soulful vocal expressing an aching longing for love — and to be loved. 

  • “What Kind of Fool Would Want to Fall in Love?” a breezy pop song built around a looped, shimmering, finger plucked acoustic guitar melody and percussive percussion paired with Tessa D’s soulful crooning. On one level, the song views love with a healthy cynicism — but as the band’s Todd Goings explains, “What Kind of Fool Would Want to Fall in Love is a portrait of the fool in love. Do only fools fall in love or does love make us fools?“

  • “Low Fidelity” is a decidedly jazz pop/pop jazz take on their firmly established trip hop-inspired sound that’s rooted in their penchant for incredibly catchy hooks, dusty, old-school inspired production paired with Tessa D’s soulful crooning. 

  • “Darlin’,” a slow-burning torch song that’s one-part neo-soul, one-part old school pop-meets trip hop anchored around a dusty, lo-fi production featuring twinkling Rhodes, boom-bap like drumming and a supple bass line serving as a lush bed for Tessa D’s soulful and yearning crooning. 

  • “Killing Floor,” a vibey bit of psych-tinged neo-soul, anchored around a glistening vaguely Eastern-like guitar line, congo-driven percussion samples of casino games blaring and bleeping. The song’s arrangement and production serves as a lush yet strangely atmospheric bed for Tessa D’s soulful croon.

The duo’s latest single “Make Believe (Life Is Such A Dream)” is a woozy trip-hop-like take on indie pop anchored around twinkling and arpeggiated keys, reverb-soaked pedal steel and skittering beats paired with the duo’s unerring knack for crafting catchy hooks. The song’s arrangement and production serves as a dusty bed for Tessa D’s heartbroken delivery.

“It is a song about lying to oneself,” the duo explain. “The inspiration for the song was ‘Maxwell’s Silver Hammer,’ in that the sound of the song and the lyrics of the song are tonal opposites. It sounds light, but when you read the lyrics it’s dark. So, is it a light song, or is it a dark song? It’s both, and is dependant on the listener’s perception of it. In Make Believe, the protagonist is in a loveless relationship, and rather than accepting this truth, chooses to lie to themselves. The sound of the song is the lie, and the lyrics are the truth.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

Lyric Video: Tokyosongbird Shares Broodingly Cinematic “On Falling”

Back in the day, Tokoyosongbird creative mastermind Justin Lewis was signed to the Beastie Boys‘ label Grand Royal Records, released records globally and toured the global festival circuit with his nine member backing orchestra. Grand Royal Records eventually closed up shop, and Lewis withdrew into the studio.

Last year, Lewis had an epiphanous realization that he was neurodiverse. “It was kinda crazy as I’d been searching for years and just never finishing anything – I thought it was my artistic temperament – and then you learn there’s this thing that means your brain works differently – well shiiit,” Lewis says.

“As I got my head around this I wrote this song ‘Let Your Songbird Sing’ (the project’s next single) that was about being completely yourself, and like nothing I’ve ever written before, and a new project was born,” Lewis continues. “I needed a producer to give the sound a scale and an edge, and to properly kick my butt if I became in danger of shelving another album I almost made. Dave Sanderson was the perfect fit.

“I put my first single ‘After the Storm’ out last year on the spur of the moment, it was finished, I got a bit giddy and in about three hours I’d made a video and launched it. I remember getting several messages going ‘What are you doing? This wasn’t the plan — haha, it felt great though! – Tokyosongbird was born and a decade of paralysis at an end”.

Lewis’ latest Tokyosongbird single “On Falling” is a breathtakingly gorgeous yet eerie and brooding bit of Portishead and Tales of Us-era Goldfrapp-like trip hop that seamlessly blends acoustic and electronic sounds: Lewis’ achingly plaintive falsetto ethereally floats over an uneasy seeming arrangement of twinkling, arpeggiated keys, supple bass lines and atmospheric synths.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: JOVM Mainstays The Lovelines Take a Gamble on Love

Currently split between Berlin and  Orlando, the JOVM mainstays The Lovelines — the sibling duo of Tessa D (vocals) and Todd Goings (multi-instrumentalist, songwriting and prodution) — have released material from their forthcoming full-length debut single-by-single.

So far, I’ve managed to write about four of the album’s singles:

  • “May Be Love,” a slow-burning torch song-like take on trip hop and neo-soul built around shimmering pedal steel and congo-led percussion paired with Tessa D’s soulful vocal expressing an aching longing for love — and to be loved. 

  • “What Kind of Fool Would Want to Fall in Love?” a breezy pop song built around a looped, shimmering, finger plucked acoustic guitar melody and percussive percussion paired with Tessa D’s soulful crooning. On one level, the song views love with a healthy cynicism — but as the band’s Todd Goings explains, “What Kind of Fool Would Want to Fall in Love is a portrait of the fool in love. Do only fools fall in love or does love make us fools?“

  • “Low Fidelity” is a decidedly jazz pop/pop jazz take on their firmly established trip hop-inspired sound that’s rooted in their penchant for incredibly catchy hooks, dusty, old-school inspired production paired with Tessa D’s soulful crooning. 

  • “Darlin’,” a slow-burning torch song that’s one-part neo-soul, one-part old school pop-meets trip hop anchored around a dusty, lo-fi production featuring twinkling Rhodes, boom-bap like drumming and a supple bass line serving as a lush bed for Tessa D’s soulful and yearning crooning.

The album’s latest single “Killing Floor” is a vibey bit of psych-tinged neo soul, rooted in glistening vaguely Eastern sounding guitar, congo-driven percussion, samples of casino games blaring and bleeping serving as a lush yet strangely atmospheric bed for Tessa D’s soulful croon.

“‘Killing Floor’ is about the abstract connection between three subjects: a casino, a slaughterhouse, and life itself,” the band’s Todd Goings explains. “Every one of these places/things is a killing floor in its own sense. The idea is a ‘if the game is rigged and you’re bound to lose, you might as well gamble’ thing… gamble on love, gamble on pursuing a dream, etc.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: The Lovelines Share Slow-Burning Torch Song “Darlin'”

Over the past year or so, Orlando-based sibling duo and JOVM mainstays The Lovelines — Tessa D (vocals) and Todd Goings (multi-instrumentalist, songwriting and production) — have released material from their forthcoming full-length debut, single-by-single.

I’ve managed to write about three of the album’s singles:

  • “May Be Love,” a slow-burning torch song-like take on trip hop and neo-soul built around shimmering pedal steel and congo-led percussion paired with Tessa D’s soulful vocal expressing an aching longing for love — and to be loved. 

  • “What Kind of Fool Would Want to Fall in Love?” a breezy pop song built around a looped, shimmering, finger plucked acoustic guitar melody and percussive percussion paired with Tessa D’s soulful crooning. On one level, the song views love with a healthy cynicism — but as the band’s Todd Goings explains, “What Kind of Fool Would Want to Fall in Love is a portrait of the fool in love. Do only fools fall in love or does love make us fools?“

  • “Low Fidelity” is a decidedly jazz pop/pop jazz take on their firmly established trip hop-inspired sound that’s rooted in their penchant for incredibly catchy hooks, dusty, old-school inspired production paired with Tessa D’s soulful crooning. 

The duo’s latest single “Darlin'” is a slow-burning torch song that that’s subtly one-part neo-soul, one-part old school pop-meets trip-hop rooted around a dusty, lo-fi-like production featuring twinkling Rhodes, boom bap-like drumming and a supple baseline serving as a lush bed for Tessa D’s soulful and yearning crooning.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Kai Tak Teams Up With Dol Ikara on Brooding and Shimmering “Blush”

Born in Hong Kong and adopted by American parents, who worked at a camp for Vietnamese refugees seeking opportunity in the city nicknamed the Pearl of the Orient, the Los Angeles-based multi-instrumentalist and producer Chris King may be best known for his work in Cold Showers and his production work for a list of artists that include Tamaryn, House of Harm and Fearing.

Led by King, the Los Angeles-based collective Kai Tak derives its name from the now-retired Hong Kong airport, famously known for its harrowing approach just above and through the city’s skyscrapers. Founded during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when King started to write songs as a vehicle for connecting with his own unconventional roots and as a platform for collaboration with the numerous musical friends made from his lengthy career as a producer and engineer. Operating without any deadlines or creative constraints allowed King to use and explore every technique he had learned over the years, incorporating re-sampling, drastic pitch shifting, time-stretching, liberal use of tape delay, recording live drums with MIDI drum triggers, and creating his own sample-based synthesizers using found sounds recorded during various trips to Hong Kong.Sonically King and company specialize in sculpting moody soundscapes that draw inspiration from shoegaze, trip hop and electronica.

Back in December 2022, King assembled a live lineup and within a year, Kai Tak has opened for Blonde Redhead, Tamaryn and Public Memory. The collective has plans to tour in support of their full-length debut, which is slated for a June 2024 release through á La Carte Records.

Coming off the heels of the album’s first two singles, “Jalen Rose,” feat. Draag and “Villains In My Mind,” feat. Foie Gras, the album’s third and latest single “Blush” featured Dol Ikara‘s Claire Roddy, a collaboration that can be traced back to when the two artists were paid together by chance for a live show. Built around a brooding and cinematic arrangement that — to my ears — sounds like a synthesis of Massive Attack and Cocteau Twins with skittering boom bap paired with looping and glistening strings and swirling sheogazer textured synths serving as a lush bed for Roddy’s soulful, smoky croon.

“Chris came to me with this transportive instrumental while I was dealing with a bit of a writer’s block,” Roddy explains. “These lyrics are an ode to that very moment of inspiration where suddenly feelings, words, and melodies spring right out from the drought, as instantly and vulnerably as a blush.”

“When Claire explained the meaning behind her lyrics, I almost couldn’t believe it,” Kai Tak’s Chris King explains. “The music also came to me during a bout of writer’s block, which was broken by one of my old tried and true methods – watching a visually stunning movie on mute and composing music inspired by the imagery.  In the case of ‘Blush,’ the inspiration was Fallen Angels, which has always made me feel like I’m permanently suspended in the most beautiful fever dream.” 

Kai Tak will be performing at Lunar New Year themed show on February 10, 2024 at Los Angeles’ Genghis Cohen that will feature bands with at least one Asian member. Fittingly. there will be some Lunar New Year traditions — every attendee will receive a Lucky Red Envelope with various prizes inside. The night’s DJ will play a mix of tradition Chinese music and contemporary tunes. It’s an event that Kai Tak’s Chris King hopes to turn into an annual tradition.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy 58th Birthday, Beth Gibbons!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Portishead’s Beth Gibbons’ 58th birthday.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Terciopelo Shares Brooding and Slickly Produced “Your Love . . . “

Terciopelo is the solo recording project of a mysterious and emerging Costa Rican-born and-based electronic music producer and artist, who blends diverse instrumental elements, trap beats, jazz and soulful melodies into a unique and moody sound that has been described as thought provoking.

The mysterious Costa Rican-born and-based electronic music producer and artist’s forthcoming full-length debut, The Breakaways reportedly sees him collaborating with a talented and diverse group of female vocalists. Thematically, the album focuses on women and their journeys through life — with each vocalist singing lyrics that detail the trials, tribulations and joys of their life through their perspective. The album’s material delves into the depths of passion, love and all of the various aspects of human life.

“This album represents a significant chapter in my musical journey,” the mysterious producer and artist says. The Breakaways is not just a music album, it’s a celebration of life, love and the magnetic power of music. We poured our hearts into every note, and we hope it resonates with our audience on a profound level.”

“Your Love . . .,” The Breakaways‘ latest single is a brooding and slickly produced synthesis of Portishead-like trip hop, trap beats and contemporary electro pop paired with yearning vocals and evocative lyrics. The song thematically is a deep dive into the lives of women trapped in abusive romantic relationships. The song’s narrator paints a poignant and haunting picture of the internal and external struggles that domestic abuse victims face with a seemingly lived-in specificity.

The accompanying video captures a series of women, who are at their breaking point emotionally, physically and mentally with an unsettling and uneasy realism.

We can all take a stand against domestic violence and create a safer world for everyone. If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence and need help, please go to: nomoredirectory.org.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Juilley Shares Brooding and Sultry “L’amour et l’azur”

Juilley is a Laval, France-based singer/songwriter and poet. The Laval-based artist released her full-length debut La nuit ma disparue back in 2020. She’s also one-half of the electro pop duo raoduL branK.

Since the release of her full-length debut, she published a collection of songs and poems and her latest EP, the recently released Giflant le vent. The EP’s latest single “L’amour et l’azur” is built around a trip-hop meets film noir-like production featuring skittering beats, atmospheric and squiggling guitar and a supple bass line paired with the French artist’s sultry delivery. Sonically, the result is a song that brings Portishead and Anika to mind. But as the French artist explains (in translation) “we are immersed in a hand-to-hand combat with nature and the song addresses the question of ‘loving’ reconciliation. So, when the state of love is no more what is perhaps essential remains: absolute love, love beyond . . .”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Stockholm’s Don Gog Shares Hazy and Menacing “Q”

Don Gog is a mysterious and enigmatic Stockholm-based DJ and producer, who spent a handful of years between the late 90s and early 2000s heavily involved in Gothenburg‘s hip-hop scene, working as a DJ and producer, who worked with an array of Swedish, French and American emcees, including Jeru the Damaja, Looptroop Rockers and Astma, who’s best known for his work with NoNoNo. He has also worked on TV and film scores, winning a number of international film festival awards throughout the course of his lengthy career.

The mysterious Stockholm-based DJ and producer finally steps out into the spotlight as a solo, hip-hop and electronic music artist with the forthcoming Cybernetics EP, which sees the Swedish artist and producer crating music that blends an eclectic array of influences, including Massive Attack, Portishead Aphex Twin and others, paired with visuals to create a trippy multimedia experience. By purposefully keeping the artist behind the project as ambiguous as humanly possible, the idea is that listeners and viewers can focus more on the art, as opposed to the person behind it.

Earlier this year, I wrote about “I Feel Love,” a narcoleptic and trippy fusion of dub and trip hop built around rubbery, tweeter and woofer rattling low end, staccato and percussive synths and skittering beats while Uma E’s sultry vocal sample singing “I Feel Love” bursts out of the haze. “I wanted it to feel like a trip, a journey in your head,” Don Gog explained. “To mix electronica with dub and blend the two styles… the complicated thing was to find the electronica melody that would work with the dub beats… It was challenging to blend two diverse elements into a single cohesion.”

Cybernetics EP‘s latest single, “Q” continues a run of narcoleptic and hazy, dub-inspired trip-hop that features a soulful jazz trumpet solo paired with reverb-soaked beats, atmospheric and fluttering synths and a gently vocodered vocal. The result is a song that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Massive Attack record — but with an added sense of uneasy, creeping menace. “I worked with a jazz trumpet player who improvised and then took different bits and ‘sampled’ them and created new melodies and recorded them to tape and then back to the MPC3000,” the mysterious Swedish producer explains. “And from that into the DAW again, to edit it even more.”

Directed by high fashion photographer and videographer Fofo Altinell, the hazy accompanying video for “Q” is inspired by 90s underground art and the work of directors like Chris Cunningham and David Lynch. “The visual inspiration is coming from disassociation,” Altinell explains. “Our protagonist is clearly confused, maybe traumatized or intoxicated, walking the rough streets and suddenly the daydreamy glitter comes and she’s mentally somewhere else. The things happening in her head is our fictional protagonist’s personal dreams and fears”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: The Lovelines Share Jazzy and Poppy “Low Fidelity”

Orlando-based sibling duo and JOVM mainstays The Lovelines — Tessa D (vocals) and Todd Goings (multi-instrumentalist, songwriting and production) — emerged into the scene with the late 2021 release of their debut single “Strange Kind of Love,” a slick synthesis of Amy Winehouse-like blue-eyed soul, jazz standadrs and Dummy-era Portishead-like trip-hop paired with Tessa D’s soulful crooning and a dusty production featuring twinkling Rhodes, wobbly guitars and an infectious, razor sharp hook. 

Over the past year, the Orlando-based JOVM mainstays have released material from their forthcoming full-length debut single-by-single over that period.

So far, I’ve written about two of their forthcoming album’s singles:

  • “May Be Love,” a slow-burning torch song-like take on trip hop and neo-soul built around shimmering pedal steel and congo-led percussion paired with Tessa D’s soulful vocal expressing an aching longing for love — and to be loved. 

  • “What Kind of Fool Would Want to Fall in Love?” a breezy pop song built around a looped, shimmering, finger plucked acoustic guitar melody and percussive percussion paired with Tessa D’s soulful crooning. On one level, the song views love with a healthy cynicism — but as the band’s Todd Goings explains, “What Kind of Fool Would Want to Fall in Love is a portrait of the fool in love. Do only fools fall in love or does love make us fools?“

The duo’s latest single “Low Fidelity” is a decidedly jazz pop/pop jazz take on their firmly established trip hop-inspired jazz that’s rooted in their penchant for incredibly catchy hooks, dusty, old-school inspired production paired with Tessa D’s soulful crooning.

“The song ‘Low Fidelity’ is the band playing with the dual-meaning of the phrase Low Fidelity,” The Lovelines’ Todd Goings explains. “We like listeners to spell out their own conclusions with our lyrics, so that’s what I’ll say, I guess. With the sound of this single, we have this concept of sounding poppy to a jazz audience, and jazzy to a pop audience I think of pop music as an arrangement thing, not a characteristic instrument or sound. If you arrange a jazz composition like it’s a top 40 pop song, and you can then use chord progressions and chromatic phrases that aren’t common in pop music with this tool. We love pop… but the colors in jazz feels truer to the human emotional spectrum than pop, life sounds more like a Gmaj7 than a Gmaj, it’s more grey… than black… or white, don’t you think? We’re experimenting with the fader on the spectrum between the jazz and pop spectrum. What’s too jazz, what’s too pop? We don’t know the answer (haha).”