Evoking everything from Marvin Gaye‘s What’s Going On to the balladic end of 90’s R&B to the best of the current neo-soul scene, “Neither One of Us” is one of those songs which already sounds like a classic. Its blend of reassuring familiarity and exciting freshness makes it sound like a long-overlooked song from an iconic artist which has somehow passed you by. It sits easily within existing comfort zones and has an exciting sonic frisson.
The beat is gentle, the backing vocals rich and sumptuous, the sonics ebb and flow, soulful waters gently washing on R&B shores, and the tide pulling it towards pop and mainstream waters.
But the real high point is Darrell Kelley‘s voice, a controlled and rich experience that allows him to deliver seductive and sensitive soul sensations as easily as he hits those pop crescendos.
“Neither One of Us” is not only a masterful song leaning on rich sonic traditions, but it is also a reminder that, away from those who are happy to reduce R&B to its trap-beat, digitally manipulated, boy band lowest common denominator, some artists remember the golden age of the genre, which with songs such as this and artists such as Kelley, may one day return.
The fightback starts here.
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[…] from the city of Boston, Massachusetts, one of the leading music hubs in the US, as an artist, Darrell Kelley has always stood out as a true multidisciplinary artist. As a performer, singer, songwriter, social […]