With a title that instantly wraps itself around poetically introspective thought, horanVi’s second single, Before It Lasted, is as evocative as it is luxuriantly cinematic. Packaged in a neatly consumable 3:30 runtime, it delivers indie pop hooks with a delicate dusting of jazz sophistication, cushioned by neo-soul grooves and a rich palette of harmonic textures. It’s the kind of track that seduces attention from your serotonin-firing synapses.
Some artists perform; others create sonic alchemy. horanVi firmly belongs in the latter camp, rolling out the welcome mat to listeners who crave jazzy revelations of soulful scintillation that leave an inexplicable mark
Every note in Before It Lasted feels instinctively fluid, as the gilded tones become a tonic for the soul. The interplay of jazz chords and a soaring guitar solo ensures the composition doesn’t sit still, while the time signatures shift just enough to make the heart skip in time with the notes left unplayed. But the pièce de résistance? That belongs to Violet’s vocals—honeyed yet untamed, delivering a liberated performance that turns the track into an effortless catharsis.
With their forthcoming 10-track album on the horizon, horanVi continues to resist easy categorisation, pulling from jazz, rock, blues, and neo-soul without bowing to convention. All too often jazz musicians solely serve to flex their technical chops, but when horanVi cut close to the bone, they do it in a way that affirms the mind, body and soul.
After launching on Valentine’s Day, Before It Lasted is out now on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify.
Review by Amelia Vandergast