Review originally published by Welsh Connections on 2nd April 2021.
“Show You Love” is a dark and stormy electronic pop rumination from Swansea electro-glitch-pop artist Luna Lie Lot, driven by shrewdly composed beats, synths and imagery.
From the outset, “Show You Love” sets a clear and confident tone – the arrangement and production are to-the-point and attention-holding (without being distracting). The sound is dark and stormy, built with hard, simple beats and well-crafted synths: the rumbling low end and sub-bass approach dubstep; the aggressive lead lines suggest a tight, processed electric guitar, adding a hint of rock; a haunting piano line evokes 90s dream trance. It’s a coherent sound, satisfyingly dense and compressed yet minimalist with lots of space for a clear, crisp, ethereal vocal part. While the track doesn’t do anything unexpected, it doesn’t really need to deviate from its tried-and-trusted template. Tricks from the EDM toolbox – pre-chorus drop-outs, pitch-shifting vocals and restrained glitching – are well-executed, adding the texture and movement needed to lift an already intense sound. The sound reflects the moody lyrical content without ever forcing the point, toned and balanced for radio appeal. The words are familiar and well-trodden while possessing some appealing poetical flair, drama and imagery.
For an artist whose biography cites struggling with confidence and shyness, I certainly don’t hear that here. There is much more of a self-assured pop feel towards that of Lady Gaga or Madonna than the self-conscious vulnerability found in the music of cited acts like Selena Gomez and Victoria Justice.
Overall, this track is hard to fault and hits its target square on. At its heart, the song invokes the electronic pop of the 2000s but with an updated sound. Full of hooks that will appeal to fans of electronic radio pop, “Show You Love” sounds like an artist and producer achieving exactly what they set out to achieve.
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