Usually, Pop ballads tend to narrate love stories which only seem to reflect Hollywood-style romance, with their latest single, ‘Overwhelmed’, London-based Pop artist LIIYO cut the pretence and projected plaintive resonant emotion which we have all felt at some point during lockdown.
Ultimately, Overwhelmed is reassurance that no matter how powerless you feel, no matter how much you feel like your sanity is slipping, those feelings will fade.
Overwhelmed is a sonorously cathartic aural extension of the artist’s compassion and tenacity when it comes to offering his fans exactly what they need to hear. It may have been their first time orchestrating a ballad, but LIIYO was able to bring a striking amount of maturity to Overwhelmed which followed on from their two precious releases ‘Bad Reaction’ and ‘Dizzy’.
With their affinity for KPOP, 90s RnB, Soul and 80s Electro all feeding their way into the mix, which was produced by Will Henderson, the instrumentals are as tender as the lyrics and vocals which offer pitch-perfect Pop harmony.
LIIYO may have only made his debut in Summer 2020, but previously, they were lending their talent to KPOP-inspired UK Pop groups who were responsible for bringing plenty of KPOP fever to this side of the pond. As a solo artist, LIIYO started to strive to find their own sound, instead of celebrating a pre-existing one. The result? Darker, deeper, more meaningful music that will undoubtedly become plenty of people’s playlist staples.
You can check out LIIYO’s latest single Overwhelmed for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.
Keep up to date with new releases from LIIYO via Instagram.
Review by Amelia Vandergast
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