DMEANOR

DMEANOR returns with his new mini EP titled ‘Fool For Loving’ featuring Kwamie Liv.

Korean R&B artist DMEANOR, who debuted with ‘Don’t Hold Me (feat. Swings)‘ and shortly after released his second single ‘Right Here‘, is back with an impressive collaboration with Denmark-based R&B artist Kwamie Liv. The track is produced by Donut (who most recently produced Jeremih’s ‘oui’ and PnB Rock’s ‘Selfish’).

Song Review (written by Cy):

Let’s suspend with any sort of formalities. ‘Fool For Loving’ is sexy in every possible way a song can be sex. If that’s too crude, let’s break it down to the base elements. The song is sparse, a bare beat made hollow with heartbreak, the feeling of emptiness that follows a lover’s dramatic exit out of your life. DMEANOR matches that thick void of regret with an intensity in his voice indicative of someone pleading, knees bruised from falling to the ground and begging for someone to come back, to give his heart some ease. And in that pain, he yearns for a reason, a reason to stay, a reason to keep putting his heart in the way of a speeding train. For that’s all love is — a manic freight train run off the tracks, wheels sparking with the aggressive need to stop but incapable of doing so, pity goes to the fool in the way of its charge.

The lyrics speak of a man who knows he pushes too hard when he should simply let his lover be: “Sometimes I push you to the edge. Don’t jump. Please don’t jump.” Yet we also get the resignation of said lover, a woman who’s had enough of fighting, whose exhaustion traces the edges of her voice. She’s given up arguing over who’s right and who’s wrong: “Don’t act like you’re the victim. We both lose control”

In that moment, even when you know you shouldn’t, even when you know you’re absolutely better off getting out of this crazy relationship, there’s an itch. You don’t want just anyone to scratch it. You need the jagged nails of your former lover, the one who left you in shambles in the first place but who knows just how to put you back together. The one who knows every crevice, every sensitive dip of skin, ever mewl of need. Donut’s composition is that exact push and pull, the repulsion of someone who drives you insane, then the absolute hot, sticky need for that person to hold you, rock you and into you in a way that will take all doubts and fears right out of you.

Listen to DMEANOR’s ‘Fool For Loving (Feat. Kwamie Liv)’ on Apple Music

Donut’s brilliant ability to tell this sordid tale with this rustic slow jam — reminiscent of Chris Loco’s work on Emeli Sandé’s ‘Garden’ —  sets up the battle between DMEANOR and Kwamie Liv. While our male lead is all crushed high notes and heady teardrops, our female lead has almost surrendered to the inevitable. One would expect the range in DMEANOR’s delivery — harkening back to the ache in Maxwell’s voice in songs like his version of ‘This Woman’s Work’ or ‘Pretty Wings’. However, Kwamie is a new voice to me, and it’s refreshing to find a female vocalist who opts to sit steady and unbothered in that alto register, that huskiness and world-weariness adding rugged texture to the song.

This dichotomy of voices combined with the almost audible heartache in the song’s composition creates a tension that sits heavy in the abdomen. ‘Fool For Loving’ is a song of friction, of opposite energies rubbing against one another and creating sparks at their meeting points. An explosion is imminent, but in the end, the fire these two bodies make is enough to keep them coming back over and over again until the flames consume them.

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About the Writer: Cy is a digital journalist and blog writer specializing in reviews of music and film across a broad range of genres. Wherever there’s electricity, food and a good Wi-fi connection is where she makes her home. Find her on Twitter (@mindlesscy) and Instagram (@mindless_cy).