There is nothing like the apocalyptic fear that engulfs you after making hasty decisions, and of all things that are difficult to stomach in adulthood, nobody wants to die alone in the name of being independent. In her latest offering, Lockdown Lovestory, Pilani Bubu unpacks the overwhelming tricks the lustful mind can play when heated and blinded by fantasy and sensual craving. Surprisingly, I, though conflicted, enjoyed and sympathized with the love gained and lost in the Lovestory.
The ambience of déjà vu – rich in onomatopoeia, poetic nuance, sass, and sultry harmonic major scale prowess – was a significant adjustment to my listening taste once I settled out of my biased expectations. The 90s-induced Nu RnB deepened my appreciation for the organic touch delivered through the use of vintage mics, FX instruments, synths, and Rhodes in electronic production.
On “As We Lay”, she reaffirms a quote that has been echoed in different vocal textures of RnB history: “Your love is like a drug.” Pilani, through vivid poetic language, tortures herself with imagined scenarios (“as we lay in my sheets, as we day dreaming fulfilling a thousand meets”) in excited anticipation of what the skin-on-skin contact will feel like with her love interest, whom she dedicates an overtly suggestive music video.
Watch: Pilani Bubu – “As We Lay” here:
As an extended metaphor, Lovestory is a recurring one, one where we lock crushes, side chicks, and partners in the promise of forever, which translates into no more than eight months. In a recent podcast conversation, Pilani confirmed this when she revealed she was ghosted for a month. And this reckoning has since pushed her on the edge of reflection. It inspired restoration and reunion because she had to forgive herself for making impatient choices in the face of the ticking timebomb of lust. Be it breaking her one-year celibacy or the recurrent calls that serve as interludes between the pleading verses, all attempts to salvage the dying connection are reminders of what she has given physically and emotionally, though in vain, as she ends up being ghosted.
A turn of events which shatter the ecstasy on “As We Lay”.
Hanging on a string of being left high and dry, the contrasting green aggression becomes the order of the day in “Pendulum Swing”. Disorientated by the inevitable end of the honeymoon phase, the magical energy that once ruled “The Prelude”, “As We Lay”, and “Desire” wanes. We find Pilane falling into spectrums of doubt, caught between a rock and hard place as she slides cohesively into “Conundrum” with the repetitive hook “High swings the pendulum, that’s the conundrum”.
Caught in a twilight rapture of “Do I let go now or fight for this love?” is the back-to-back eerie resolve carried in “The Conundrum” and “Missed the Mark”. The audiovisual records pique our imaginations, lifting us to a place where last resorts are being made and where fear puppeteers the desperation to keep a relationship that is no longer reciprocal. It’s rather weird to admit that love has no more than ever been reduced as a means to an end. Or is it rather the disappointing realization that such has always been the case, and we just haven’t been as openly disregarding as we are now? Maybe what hurts the most is the heightened lack of effort. The least you could do – if you intend to be in my space for a good time, not a long time – is sweep me off my feet.
In conclusion, let the story I tell about your villainy have excitement, spice, and character rather than a rant relegating you to a justification of being useless. Evoke chivalry, and up your game, gents; the ladies are not impressed. Maybe it’s time to stop treating women like dollies and treat them as what they have always been – more. One thing about bestowing abundance to a woman is that she reciprocates that energy tenfold. We ought to remember that before ghosting and being quick to dispose of these forevers we come across.
Watch: Pilani Bubu – Lockdown Lovestory Interview Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXGsedSv-vI&t=3s
Stream or download Pilani Bubu’s Lockdown Lovestory EP: https://ditto.fm/lockdownlovestory
