We love a good 50MPH cruise…
[Video]
[6.57]
Nortey Dowuona: Glittering, glassy guitars and sandy, drifting drums ride a pulpy, heavy bass groove while Afro Kitty Jones spins a tangled tale of delusion and infatuation, swirling the fantasy and reality in with a little horn flourishes she adds at the last inch to spread more stars throughout the cosmos. Oh, and here are some more strings to cap the credits.
[10]
Juana Giaimo: I enjoy the contrast between her confident, straightforward voice and the fragmented instrumentation. The guitar is the only soothing sound — while the beat is far from typical, the backing vocals lose control and the brass adds a seductive nocturnal feeling.
[7]
Will Adams: The aqueous guitar recalls Miguel’s “Do You…” enough to hold my interest, even if the production veers toward cluttered in the chorus.
[6]
Anthony Easton: There is a kind of whine to her vocals that works against a set of fairly conservative production choices, but in a way where any interference seems accidental.
[3]
Alfred Soto: The quietness with which “Rearview Love” doesn’t cohere bespeaks its confidence; the glue is the prominent rhythm guitar, the pathos provided by the stack of harmonies. It does its job by conjuring a sensation that crumbles between the fingertips.
[6]
Joshua Minsoo Kim: Perfectly hazy and wistful, like looking back on memories of an ex. The strings and guitar strums and layers of vocals set the mood, all quietly weeping in their own preferred manner. The constant hit of those toms feel like small gut punches, though: a reminder that the oscillating feelings one has of a past love (“You’re pissing me off/You’re turning me on/I love you, I hate you, I can not keep up with it”) always conclude with a painful reality (“Another broken heart/How could I end up like this again?/I guess the love we shared was all in my head”).
[6]
Edward Okulicz: 2018 badly needed a couplet as pithy and perfect as “You’re pissing me off/you’re turning me on.” I’m also taken with how Afro Kitty Jones fills up all the spaces with interesting backing vocals — wailing cool little sub-melodies and dropping asides like “what are we even doing here.” It’s all those little touches that make “Rearview Love” worth repeat listens. I was initially turned off by that wafty guitar, but so much else turned me on.
[8]