What Is Love? – Dejhare (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

There is something of an eighties revival around at the moment. Film and TV is referencing the era, some of the clothes are back in fashion and new music is drawing inspiration from the sonic innovations of that post-punk period. And I’m not saying that What Is Love? is looking back to past glories but there is something of that decade floating around in the song’s DNA.

But that is probably due to the fact that the things that makes good pop what it is – an infectious beat, a memorable lyric, a contagious groove – never really change and all of those qualities are found here in large amounts. And if there are nods to the past there is even more of a look to the future. And it is at this cross-era, cross-genre collision point that she makes her music. Classic pop that is both mature and instantaneous with soulful touches of brass, R&B energy, both in the modern sense of the term and with some fluid guitar work and rhythmic drive that tips its hand to the older meaning, and some cutting edge, ultra-cool dance floor vibes.

And if that seems like a lot to fit in to one song, it is the way that it is all dovetailed together that makes it work. Lesser artists would end up with something too busy, fussy and confused but here things are allowed enough space to interplay properly, creating perfect peaks and tasteful troughs in the  music, a rolling and shifting dynamic that serves the song perfectly.

And of course what sets good pop apart from the “also-rans” is the vocal and lyrical content and here the same attention to detail that runs through the rest of the song is also on display. Dejhare not only has a confident and sensuous voice but is able to pen lyrics that are both contagious and memorable from the first listen but reveal meaning full depths with each repeat. Pop doesn’t have to have throw away lyrics, and this is the proof, it’s a fine line to walk but here it works with the words proving to be hooky and accessible for those who just want to dance the night away with this as the charming soundtrack, but which also have something to say.

I keep saying that this is good pop but I think that I might be underselling the song somewhat. This is actually great pop and the sort of thing that will one day, given the passage of enough time, be considered classic pop and perhaps future creatives will be studying the make up and mechanics of this song to gain insite and inspirations for their own new music. And so the cycle continues….

Find out more about Dejhare here

www.dejhare.com
https://www.instagram.com/dejharemusic/
https://www.facebook.com/Dejhare
https://twitter.com/dejhare