Release Date: March 28, 2025
Rating: 4/5
Appearing in Spotify’s 2025 “Artists To Watch” list, Maya Delilah is taking no shortcuts when going The Long Way Round. The newest album showcases a wide spectrum of emotions and an impressive representation of numerous genres. Maya Delilah puts it all together here while taking a charming singer-songwriter approach, and here are a few standouts that to me hit differently.
First of them, “Squeeze” was the energetic outlier of the album. “Squeeze” lays down an intoxicating bass groove, the type that was tailored with surgical precision to usurp your motor function on the dance floor. This song in particular reminds me a lot of the music of one of my favorite groups, coincidentally enough named The Main Squeeze – a funk/rock group who’s vibe is similar to what this song does. Although a significantly different vibe than the other songs on the album, I still greatly appreciate the integration of genre-bending and the experimentation, this is something that I respect as a musician. As a nice cherry on top, “Squeeze” has a charismatic visualizer that perfectly encapsulates the playfulness they were going for here.
Many of the central themes of this album embody things like love, trust, and happiness – and some about the heavier things in life like sadness and inadequacy. I found “Actress” moodier than the rest, and no less enjoyable. The song alludes to a significant other being checked out, and the slow burn process that follows. This song to me also had the most processed and unique guitar tone on the whole album. My first impression was immediately that this extrapolates the emotions being conveyed here, by inserting this type of auditory contrast.
“Jeffery” was overwhelmingly my favorite song on the album. One thing that I think The Long Way Round really has going for it across the board is the instrumentals, and this song is the only fully instrumental track on the album which made for a well placed interlude. Although it’s unclear who “Jeffery” is, it is clear that this song is able to convey what words cannot. “Jeffery” is the kind of song to listen to while at a picnic on a beautiful day, or maybe while enjoying a home cooked meal.
Music videos and visualizers can be watched here:
The Long Way Round has something to offer for all kinds of listeners and covers a lot of bases musically. For those who are looking for easygoing listening this spring, this is an album that is worth checking out. When I listened to this and showed it to my friends, some told me it made for a very relaxing experience – don’t just take my word for it – take hers…
