RYAL – Lonely Love

RYAL – Lonely Love

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/jacque.ryal

Pink-themed disco artist Jacque Ryal has extended her range on new single, “Lonely Love.” The singer’s previous work has notably remained firmly fixed on the formula of modern electro-disco. Her new effort, however, brings in fresh elements – synth pop, wah guitar – which expand the dynamic range of her work and will possibly reach out to a whole new range of audiences. Perhaps the clearest comparison would be Yeah Yeah Yeah’s frontwoman Karen O, brought by the way of Balearic pop-house.

The first bars of the song make the intention clear. While we meet the melody line, it is accompanied by a pushing, four-to-the-floor drum track. A squirming thick bass rumbles along and lays a solid bedrock for the singer and the synths to hook the listener. Appearing with reverbed vocals, almost distant, Ryal sings the title’s refrain. An interesting concept, the high escapism of the chorus gives way into the steadier, quieter verse. The singer tells her audience to keep fighting, edging closer and closer to the chorus as the beat grows steadily more manic.

The introduction to the Chic-style guitar lines adds a bouncing, shimmering quality to an otherwise suitably cold track. The warmth of the acoustic instruments mix against the steely gaze of their synthetic equivalents, leaving Ryal to ride over both. Her voice rarely ventures into the regular balladeering which one might see in a Guetta-style house project, but it never needs to. Her message is a personal and reflective one; less designed for large crowds than the individuals who make up the dance floors.

Because of this, Ryal’s latest single is potentially a better indication of her musical abilities than the earlier release, City Lives. For the listener, the track is less crowded. Rather than sparse, the steady introduction of musical elements allows the singer to build steadily to the emotional resolution which lies at the end of the track.

Oddly pensive and meditative, Ryal belies her big house influences. This is perhaps more in tune of the synth-pop of Simple Minds and Skeletons-era Yeah Yeah Yeahs than being too indebted to the dance genres. As such, it is able to pilfer elements from both worlds. The pulsing bass and tempered synths allow the track to reach up to new heights while the emotional deliverance and deliberation help to ground these ambitious adventures in something more human than the typical nameless house diva might provide.

I-TUNES: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/lonely-love-single/id966923634

Huw Thomas