Joseph Ross Smith

Music

exclusive premiere! yola’s “dancing away in tears” is a dancefloor epiphany

July 29, 2021
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When you’ve got a voice like Yola’s, you can do whatever you want. That’s just a fact. While there’s always been a retro tinge to her music, on her latest “Dancing Away In Tears,” Yola transforms herself into a full-on disco queen in the best way. It’s the exact right mix of bittersweet vocals, giant organic production, and an ineffable beat that’s destined to keep you moving through the heartbreak.

Yola has a unique talent for the breakup song, always finding a new tack to turn sorrow into a transformative experience. “Dancing Away In Tears” is a hook-filled ode to the realization that pain is fleeting, but vinyl is forever. Disco has always been a far more subversive genre than it gets credit for being, but even on that venerable dancefloor there have been few lines as cutting as “Goodbye baby, goodbye love / I wish you well, well enough.” This is a track that cuts to the soul.

 

 

 

“It is a song about a sad but nevertheless needed goodbye; it’s about purging people from your life whose involvement in your life no longer serves you in a way that is joyful, fruitful or even needed.” Yola said, adding, “Essentially you’ve outgrown someone. They were an essential step in your growth, but just a single step in a long process. Maybe they thought they were more than that, maybe they were once, but either through change or a lack thereof, they no longer fit in your life. They don’t make time for you, they don’t see you clearly or your needs. You’re drifting, you’re outgrowing, you’re waiting for an understanding that doesn’t come. There are times you just need to cut and run, but sometimes you need only slowly waltz away waving a sorry goodbye wishing it could’ve gone another way. Either way, you’re out.”

Yola’s forthcoming Stand For Myself drops July 30th to be followed by a massive US tour. On August 4th and 5th, Moment House will be broadcasting a live performance of the full album from the Newport Folk-On event. For more info, follow Yola on Instagram @iamyolaofficial

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