Indigo De Souza, Hold U
Saddle Creek
Indigo De Souza’s quiet intensity is what propelled her debut album, 2018’s I Love My Mom, to such success. Now, in the lead-up to this summer’s follow-up Any Shape You Take, she’s sharing the same subtlety and knack for effortless complexity on Kill Me and brand-new Hold U. Airy countermelodies back up De Souza’s divine vocals, as she gracefully, nonchalantly delivers her lyrics – these new tracks are lighter than what we’ve heard on I Love My Mom, but they let De Souza’s skilful songwriting shine even more.
Hold U sits somewhere between bedroom pop, funk, dance, and something unidentifiable that emanates from all De Souza’s music. Synth and delicately restrained percussion underpin the track’s stripped back opening – Kill Me was almost painfully intimate, but Hold U is intimate in a far more cosy way. De Souza’s vocals feel like she could be holding your hands, and as each new shimmering instrumental layer chimes in, she’s cheering you on a little more – the way she’s built the track is sublime, from the grooving bass moments to the sparkly, muted chorus. Intricacies abound, and not one thing feels out of place, all tied together by De Souza’s silky vocal delivery.
Previous release Kill Me strikes a little more of an intense tone; De Souza’s vocals dip along her jagged melodies with the same kind of silvery flow, but this time they’re accompanied by a grungier guitar, a little more insistency, a little more dark. Her range is clear, her emotional power, her rawness – they’re all coming together, even in just these two songs, to prepare us for an album that’s set to be an astounding creation.
Any Shape You Take is coming August 27th.
