Leland - Another Lover

by Q Review Staff

First, before I get into too much of the heavy lifting I have to say how much of a kick it is to be able to write an advance review for someone like Leland. This is a golden globe nominee, an artist who has worked with Sabrina Carpenter, Troye Sivan, Selena Gomez, Martin Garrix, Carrie Underwood, Lauv, MNEK, Daya and more. There should be no reason that I should expect that if I tweet "hey, I'd love to write an advance review for you" that he would see it. His fans are pummeling him with messages. But then when he DM's you a link and a heart emoji, well that speaks volumes about who he is as a person and an artist. And...full disclosure...it also made me scream like a howler monkey. You're welcome. So, with that said, let's dive in.

Leland has been behind the music on so many hits that it almost makes him an unlikely pop star to emerge. However it's his clever understanding of creating infectious pop music and the well crafted musical hook that actually makes Leland one of the most formidable pop powerhouses currently releasing singles. Leland releases smart pop. Pop that gets in you and takes up residence and isn't easily forgotten or gets tiresome. The melodies are a large part of the draw. Familiar enough to be comfortable to the listener and yet unique enough to grab your attention and assert its specialness. Leland has seen the successes and learned from the failures and now is making music that is a succinct combination of those lessons. And he's making music he knows listeners want to hear.

And then he goes and releases his new single 'Another Lover'...and completely proves me right. Romantic synth pop can be groovy goodness or it can veer into the land of grand fromage. But like I pointed out already...Leland makes smart pop. He knows how easily too much can spoil the broth. So he keeps everything exactly where it needs to be. The track builds nicely and then finds its mark and plants roots and hangs on until the home stretch when it ramps up for a final punch. As a young queer man this is the kind of song I would have wanted to have in the world, would have wanted playing when my fella found me on the dance floor and flirted with me. Leland knows his audience and he understands that many of them are that young queer boy who wants to have the chance to experience the same dance floor attraction, the same flirtation, the same electricity that the rest of the world experiences.

He was just smart enough to create a song that exemplifies that.

Stream Another Lover