Throughout his career, Bilal has been rather enigmatic and reclusive – he’s been known to record an album and promptly disappear into the fringes to reappear with another album, some time later. In fact, Bilal’s A Love Surreal was released to critical praise, as it had the soul singer/songwriter crooning to soulful compositions with elements of jazz and blues; however, there hadn’t been much in the video department – until now.
“Slipping Away,” has the singer/songwriter crooning over a sparse and spectral arrangement of fluttering synths, piano and hushed drums, and it may remind some folks of Nick Hakim and Moses Sumney, in the sense that the song has a haunting wistful, melancholy feel as it describes a love that has just somehow slipped away and not knowing what to do; however, the song also possesses subtle nods to old school doo-wop and Prince-era rock, thanks to a blistering guitar solo near the song’s conclusion.
The official video, directed by Hans Elder and shot in the gorgeous, capital of love, Paris features Bilal longing for the love he’s always dreamt of, and he spends the video in an elaborate game of cat and mouse through Paris’s streets, subway platforms, trains and cabs. To me, it portrays Paris as one of the most beautiful yet most lonely places in the entire world.