UK-based artist lleo bounds into 2021 with the dutifully hope-filled "only get better."
With art a reflection of life itself, there have been countless songs inspired by the challenging circumstances we've all experienced in the past year. Some have been hits, some were misses, but in the case of this sugary slice of emphatic pop, it graciously lands in the former with its uplifting platitudes built to outlast the troubling times they refer to.
Cutting straight into the verse, "only get better" immediately juxtaposes the emotionally heavy, vivid lyricism against the irrefutably uplifting production. “I want people to feel sad and happy when they hear my music," lleo elucidates to the concept via an email statement. "I want them to understand the layers. If they have a head-full of layers like I do, then my music will resonate with them.”
The production in question, a masterful blend of Y2K pop and cutting-edge contemporary pop, in combination with this vulnerable lyricism recalls the works of Lauv and Charli XCX, whilst garnering ample creative distinction. As the verses fill out the darker side of the lyrical palette, the attention-commanding choruses bring them into a tender balance, reminding you that it can indeed "only get better" from here.
Concluding in the same statement, lleo continues “The last year has been horrible. I was in the studio one day with my co-writers, and we were all feeling pretty miserable – to the point where we thought "things are SO bad, it can only get better". We wanted to encapsulate that feeling of everything being weird and scary, but also bring a little bit of hope to people. Things will get better eventually, but it's ok to feel weird whilst the world is still not right.”
