There’s A Cycle To Break

Shiv “Late Now”

“Late Now” sounds extremely early 90s to me without necessarily feeling like a retro thing, which is maybe just the result of taking a familiar kind of breakbeat loop and bass groove and rendering it with modern tools. It’s probably also to do with Shiv’s R&B approach to vocals that adds a richness and depth that wouldn’t quite be there if the same melody was sung by a white guy from Manchester, England. I love the way this song feels both casual and heavy at the same time, and the way Shiv mirrors that contradictory dynamic by singing in a tone that’s very emotionally engaged but also sort of dismissive, as though she’s acutely aware that this person dragging on her feelings doesn’t need to be that important. Not anymore, anyway.

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