#newmusicmonday - Lately EP

Celeste, a captivating singer with a sonically rich voice, has blessed the world with her new EP Lately this past weekend. LA bred but UK raised, Celeste is coming across the pond to the states to bring back some refreshing soulfulness to the genre of R&B. It’s debatable which genre her music falls into, but its safe to say its a mix of both R&B and soul than to try to box her into one versus the other.

The EP explores themes of love, being enslaved to it (“Both Sides of The Moon,”) versus growing tired and falling out of it (“Lately.”) Another kind of love, or lack thereof is expressed, that being parental love, on the track “Father’s Son,” a chilling, tempestuous ode to absent fathers. After learning that Celete’s father died when she was only 16, and that his death seemed to be one of the huge factors she began to pursue music, it makes sense that she could write something so authentic that could make even those with the most present fathers feel a way. The track is personally my favorite, not only because the emotional depths it reaches, but the production is simple yet astounding. The song consists of a light keyboard melody, a sultry baseline, tight drums, and my favorite part, an organ spun through a Leslie Speaker, which gives the song a very original, yet eerie touch. There’s also the track “Summer (feat. Jeshi),” which seems to describe a love ending with the summer time, as one of the counterparts in the relationship reluctantly returns to another lover. However, as music is an art form that is open to many interpretations, take that with a grain of salt. Nonetheless, it’s still a good track with a heavy yet smooth baseline, Celeste’s hypnotic vocals, and a brooding spoken verse from fellow UK rapper Jeshi. The EP finishes out with a track titled “Ugly Thoughts,” that instantly draws you in with a jazzy saxophone solo, shortly followed by a soulful grand piano, a perfectly timed timpani drum, and finishes off with heavy horns and crashing, yet non-overbearing cymbals. This track seems to channel the great Sade, which shows us that Celeste is undoubtedly an artist that isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Overall, this is quite a touching EP. I’d have to give it 4 out of 5 stars, simply because I hear so much untapped potential in her sound, I know she will someday be amongst the greats. Although it’s a short project consisting of only 5 tracks, these 5 tracks will reel you in, leaving you restless for what Celeste has coming next.