Love Is Worth It All – Nolo Grace (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

Pop ballads, for want of a better word, don’t have to use the lowest common denominator attitudes and approaches. How do I know tis to be true? Because I have just played the latest single from Nolo Grace, that’s how. Love Is Worth It All has the pace and poise of the pop ballad, but it is much more than that. So much more.

Built more from floating ambient electronica, wilfully lazy beats and neo-soul seductiveness, it is a song that drifts rather than drives and is made of atmospherics rather than the usual bursts of musical energy, beat or bravado. And even when it does shift gear and change its pace, it does so in such an imperceptible way that it doesn’t break the spell but merely adds only slight sonic weight, extra gossamer layers and shimmering, see-through tones and textures.

As a song, it may come from a personal place, but it is universally relatable. It is a lyrical narrative that started life as a musing on unhealthy relationships but evolved during the writing process into a celebration of learning to love yourself.

As I said at the beginning, pop is too small a word for the grace and grandeur on display here, but it will have to do until a better word comes along; if ever one is conceived, that captures just how beautiful this song is.