Halfway through “Loved Again”, Vivien sighs: “I’m lazy to leave the equator for somewhere closer.” She has spent the last minute and a half painting a dreary picture of love lost. But the moment she starts to complain about the effort needed to pursue love, you begin to realise that she doesn’t have far to move at all; the song has been shifting in subtle, incremental degrees. What starts out distant and disconnected falls into place, and begins to sound warm and hopeful by the end of the song’s 3-minute runtime.
In a genre where anyone with an acoustic guitar and a microphone can claim to be an artist, Vivien Yap may not instantly stand out from the crowded singer-songwriter pack musically. Yet her willingness to publicly share about her personal struggles, opinions, and process set her apart from the rest. Her 2019 EP “Fables” proved that one can be raw and honest without resorting to overly dramatic tropes – there are no Joni Mitchell-esque vocal acrobatics to be found. “Loved Again” is a natural progression of what could be termed as “soft pop”; it is as if Vivien is testing the limits of her ability to tell a compelling story while also exercising as much restraint as possible.
The vocals, seated atop a slow beat that begrudgingly drags its feet along, are gentle, breathy, and confessional. Her writing avoids being lyrically dense, favouring instead short, clear statements while managing not to be completely obvious. It is the simplicity of the verses that plays very well with Vivien’s vocal delivery – she pensively dances around the beat, swaying in and out of time, creating a sense of indecisiveness and uncertainty. The first verse does something really simple (but very clever!): there’s a filter on the vocals emphasising an emotional distance that disappears once the chorus hits. Vivien’s delivery picks up energy over the course of the song as if she was gaining courage – this song is a slow burn in the best way possible.
The production doesn’t disappoint as well. The track is peppered with small, hesitant melodies and never feels too cluttered as these little parts find their own pockets to sit in. These parts are never definite – sometimes oscillating uncertainly between two notes, sometimes just fragments of phrases that never really go anywhere – but it does make narrative sense. An upright bass lends its woody gravitas to the hooks, serving to ground the hooks (in comparison to the disconnected verses) . What I find distracting though are the message tone samples that are sprinkled throughout the song. Perhaps, they hint at the nature of “Loved Again”’s lyrics (is it a long-distance text exchange?), but it pulled me out of the narrative as I had to check for a non-existent notification.
“Loved Again” doesn’t brave the same breadth and depth as Vivien’s earlier releases, but there is a newfound maturity here in the restraint. What first comes across as a lazy, meandering song builds an entire world out of the quiet details – you don’t need to be loud or grandiose to make a statement.
8/10
Listen to “Loved Again” on Spotify, Apple Music.