Olive B - Playmate
Toronto pop/R&B singer-songwriter Olive B, aka Nicole Olivia Balsom, released “Playmate” just moments ago. The track is from her forthcoming album, With Or Without You, slated to drop May 31, produced by Bobby Love.
Olive B
Olivw B describes the song’s genesis, “The song was inspired by a relationship I was in, where I felt fully committed to this person, and eventually it became one-sided. He didn’t seem to care about me, but he put more effort in when I acted the way I thought he wanted me to. The song is split between a vulnerable submissive side and one where I felt powerful and comfortable with being myself. At first, writing this track was emotional, but the more I started writing the more empowered I felt.”
Describing her sound as “ambient,” Olive B told OnestoWatch, “Imogen Heap is definitely my number one favorite ambient artist, but my other favorite artists span from different genres. (Sade, Alina Baraz, Yuna, SZA).”
The drift and sway of the R&B-flavored pop melody makes a starkly emotional impact.
“Playmate” opens on a darkly resonant guitar, austere and lingering, as Olive B’s voice first murmurs and then enters on soft, urgent timbres. When the rhythm kicks in, riding a thick heavy bass line and thumping kick drum, Olive B’s voice takes on depth and penetration. Gleaming, oozing synths glow and stream on undulating textures.
As the harmonics advance, the soundscape increases in intensity, adding a stridently assertive synth tone, giving the music an elusive tension, tight and quixotic. The drift and sway of the R&B-flavored pop melody makes a starkly emotional impact.
“Playmate’s” lyrics display the basic paucity of a relationship becoming more and more vacant.
“All of me / Wants all of you / You pull me in / Then cut me loose / Ya I’m right here / Now where are you / You tell me lies / When I’m all truths.”
“Playmate” exudes heavy emotional savors, a rhythm pulsing with suppressed emotional energy, and the evocative voice of Olive B.
