Embracing R&B and Jazz roots, Areej delivers a beautiful slow-jam ‘Bloodshed’ filled with ambitious instrumentation and raw delivery.

The song opens with the repetitive chorus that really drives the message of the song home. Its repetitiveness is its strength, especially as the passage repeats multiple times through the track. The loose harmonies that travels through all the sections, most prominently in the chorus, gives this sense of plea from the singer, which feels so impactful. Immediately, alongside the chorus’ melody, the listener will immediately understand the feel of the track, with a simple snap accompanied by extended guitar chords and a saxophone wandering with Areej’s melodies. As the gritty drums, accompanied by electronic samples to really drive home the modern aspect of the track, and the complex piano punches, the song envelops the listener in the feeling of ‘Bloodshed’. Slowly more and more instruments make their way into the spotlight, bringing the composition to the choruses without a clear transition, which is a very unique way to approach choruses. It really drives home the jam-feel of the entire song, like they simply got five musicians and a vocalist in a room and recorded their first take of their interpretation of a lead-sheet. That aspect alone makes ‘Bloodshed’ sound far jazzier than instruments ever could: Areej understand that jazz is not the instrumentation or the composition, but rather the feel which she encapsulates masterfully in ‘Bloodshed’.

Areej’s newest single is a work of art, and takes many listens to fully understand. With that being said, it only takes a single listen to immediately enjoy the track – the tight grooves and the loose nature makes it sit comfortably with its contemporaries, but the complexities hidden beneath the delivery, the composition, the production, and the feel makes ‘Bloodshed’ stand out that much more.

Author: Nicholas Gaudet

Music producer and writer from Dieppe, Canada.