Riding the wave of two notable collaborations this year, Gentle Bones is back with another captivating duet, Shouldn’t Have To Run, sung alongside Singapore’s melodic sweetheart, Joie Tan. Written by Gentle Bones and Fulses, one-third of R&B band, brb., Shouldn’t Have To Run explores the wistful relationship of two lovers whose stars are struggling to align.
“When Joie came on board to finish the song up with us, it became this beautiful duet that we knew we had to get out to the world.,” says Gentle Bones. “Joel and Fulses are both amazing artists I was thrilled to work with and I’m so happy with how the song turned out,” Joie adds.
Having discovered each other in the YouTube stratosphere almost a decade ago, this collaboration makes perfect sense when listening to the track. Gentle Bones and Joie Tan’s dulcet tones combined with the beat’s futuristic vibes transports listeners into a fantastic and curious dimension; whilst detailing the efforts of someone trying to reach out to his lover, but to no avail.
Enveloped in a mellow but brilliant harpsichord, Shouldn’t Have To Run imbues a vision of lilac skies and space-age aesthetic. Each chorus is preceded by the signature rising ‘boop’ of a message sent, drawing parallels with the current situation in the world right now, where many people are unable to physically meet their loved ones and have to rely even more now on virtual platforms. The song’s electronic influences intersperse nicely with a lush, vintage sound, which Bones elaborates further saying, “We intended for it to be a jazz-pop piece that was reminiscent of and influenced by a time in pop music where Corrine Bailey Rae and Norah Jones were favourites of the audiences.”
“It’s definitely one of my favourite collaborations to date,” says Joie. Shouldn’t Have To Run encapsulates a polarity of foreboding and longing captured in an intimate but all too familiar distant setting (the expressing of emotions through the phone) with its hopeful dream-pop synths.
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