A captivating success from horanVi, “Loving Arms” immerses with its beautiful, soulful vocal performance and steadily evolving range of instrumentation — spanning from heart-tugging strings to jazzy percussive flair. The project of guitarist and producer Sam Horan and vocalist Violet, horanVi wrote the track as “an intimate and loving dedication to Violet’s husband” — also noting that Violet was due to give birth around the time of the track’s October 20th release date. The result is an emotively powerful, stirringly melodic success.
“You don’t need to go to bed, in the darkest night,” Violet’s moody vocals compel during an especially atmospheric sequence, where trickling guitars, spacey synths, and pit-pattering percussion craft an aptly nocturnal soundscape. The “arms around me” yearning affection combines with the emergence of strings, a mainstay element throughout as the serenely intoxicating production lingers with replay-inducing allure. The lush synth pads and textural swell draw lovably from ’80s and ’90s prog-pop inspiration, combining with outstanding vocals and artful structural momentum for a definitive standout from horanVi.
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This and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.
The track is also featured in the genre-based, best-of Spotify compilation Emerging Indie Soul.
