Hook & Reel: Tinashe slays with new single ‘Faded Love’

Welcome to Hook & Reel, a series showcasing music that’s guaranteed to catch your ear.

We’ve spent years waiting in anticipation as Tinashe has navigated through a myriad different sounds, all supposedly leading up to the eternally-delayed release of her wildly-hyped sophomore record Joyride, but it sounds like the album is finally coming together fabulously. Throttling back the frothy, sugary synth-pop that dominated her first few promo singles like “Player” and “SuperLove,” she’s slowly but surely allowed the simmering slow-burn R&B that made her such a sensation creep back into her catalog, adding a glittery modern twist that keeps this new music fresh yet genuine. We first heard (and saw) it in the Offest-assisted “No Drama,” Tinashe serving some A++ choreography across the video as she coolly brushed off the histrionics and haters above a clicking, bass-heavy beat.

The second taste of the newly-revamped record comes in the form of “Faded Love,” a Stargate-produced subtle-banger that finds the starlet in her prime. A neon-lit synth pulsates quietly, wandering in and out of focus above the barely discernable, deliberately understated percussion. Tinashe’s vocal work is breathy, lonely, slightly dazed, just barely holding back a lovelorn ache. She’s singing of a one night stand but there’s a whisper of something more, like when you step into the early morning air after a sweaty night at the club, hand in hand with a stranger and wishing this could be more than just a weekend encounter, but knowing it won’t.

Photo Credit: Dennis Leupold

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