Love is simultaneously simple and highly complex, and Barbadian soul/R&B artist Keisha Christian takes us on a journey through its highs, lows, and intricacies on her new album 360 Love.
Available for purchase and streaming on all major platforms on April 14, 360 Love showcases Christian’s smooth and soulful vocals over a perfect blend of R&B and jazz that shapeshifts into breezy grooves, stormy ballads, and bouncy anthems. It’s at varying points romantic, solemn, and funky — and sometimes even chill and lounge-y. In short, 360 Love’s 12 tracks are guaranteed to take the listener on a winding adventure of love, intimacy, heartbreak and, ultimately, self-discovery.
With soaring vocals and introspective guitar fingerpicking, the pensive Before I Go begins 360 Love’s journey with heartbreak. Christian’s voice swells with emotion, as the guitar guides us through the sadness, the grief, and the tragic loss of passion. The lyrics are imagined as a letter to a lost lover, a final goodbye.
The next track, Love Is, gives us an easy groove and a meditation on just what exactly love is — concluding that, actually, it’s never easy. Then, Bésame Mucho provides a stormy, dramatic, gray-sky cover of the timeless classic. Tunnel furthers the themes of darkness and rain, only to let the light break through with its uplifting harmonies and billowing instrumentation.
You Got To Go shifts the tone again, and Christian’s playful rap-sing infuses the album with sass and attitude — “I ain’t gonna play no more / Boy I gotta let you go.” Then, she takes a soulful turn on Only So Much, where she lays down a line in the sand: “There’s only so much that a girl can take.” On the piano ballad Having My Heart Broken By You, she adopts a vocal pluckiness that assures us she’ll get through this, only because she’s able to see the breakup maturely and philosophically.
The next track, Who Was I Tonight, looks back on an evening of love in its in early bloom, capturing the electricity and giddy uncertainty. Meanwhile, Never A Failure is a bouncy anthem of self-love and self-assurance.
Here We Go Again is groovy and gliding, capturing a ’70s sunniness and a complete lack of burden. In contrast, It’s Okay starts with the admission “Today I cried” as the narrator proceeds to talk herself out of gloom amid wailing electric guitar and subtle harmonies. The album ends on the sensual groove of I Love You, a celebration of two lovers enjoying each other, every sense heightened by the intoxication of love.
“I’ve poured my heart and soul into this album, and I can’t wait for my fans to hear it,” Christian says. “I hope it inspires them, makes them feel something special, and ultimately, brings them a sense of joy and fulfilment.”
Christian is a Barbadian soul/R&B vocalist who has been singing from as far back as she can remember. At the age of nine, she entered and won her first National Singing Competition in 1992, becoming both the youngest and the first female contestant to ever win. Now Keisha has embarked on a new journey with Billboard-charting pianist/producer Eddie Bullen and his company Thunder Dome Sounds in Toronto, in a move to transcend borders with her upcoming album 360 Love.
Christian will launch 360 Love at Toronto’s El Mocambo on Friday, April 14. Doors are at 6:30 p.m., with the show at 7:30 p.m. Pre-save 360 Love HERE and find Keisha Christian at her website, Instagram and Facebook.
