JAZZ IS BACK - REVIEW OF ‘SQUEEZE’ BY MAYA DELILAH

9/10

Author: Hannah Collier

Taking the original jazz tone, with a modern twist, Maya recently released a track called, “Squeeze”. Unique to her tone, she goes to the next level as a songwriter and musician with this exciting record.

Starting off strong with the production levels, an aspect I find is extremely strong in this record, it comes in with drum clicks to a fun instrumental, working with different instruments and electric guitars to create an up-tempo beat, like those of more modern jazz tunes. As the song progresses, this builds up, adding trumpet beats and an ending drum solo which is a unique element to the track, that can really attract listeners and blends well with the backing production. Throughout Maya’s previous tracks, I found her electric guitar skills and extra production to her work to be a strong element of her craft but this record brings it up a level. Maya Delilah taps into that on her personal Instagram, sharing her ability to play electric guitar extremely well and grabbing a wider audience online for that specific ability. This can really make her work stand out and I believe it makes this track stand out. It is seen with that break in vocals just to let the instrumental stand alone as she does that for many of her previous tracks. Produced by Peter Miles, he definitely brings those stand-out elements of different instrumentals and combines them to create a colourful, fun world of production that captures that audience.

This production also blends in with her vocal tone seamlessly too. Her tone in the record is an originally deeper tone, but also showcasing her vocals in the chorus, with the ‘squeeze’, lyric that repeats, that takes her vocals higher. This is to encompass the production and instrumental as it rises and falls with her vocals. I also find them to be raw and more acoustic vocals that stand out compared to the high-level production behind, with the production stems matching the rise in vocals. I think the layering of the track stands out as a listener, and makes me wonder about the creative process. In the second verse, I can see that layering of the vocals come through at its’ core, and towards the end of the track when the song hits that climax.

Maya can also hit the lyricism to a high standard, encompassing all the star qualities of a musician. It is clear it is an upbeat love song, where she is wanting to remain with that person. “Can’t put my finger on it, this feeling in my soul,” shows she just was encapsulated by an individual at first, then leads to her wanting him to never leave – a quick progression from more of a question to an understanding.

This makes me excited for her future work and the route she is taking so far. I would put this new record at a 9/10 rating.