Isn’t Emeli Sandé extraordinary? Her voice always injects the richest emotion into her music, regardless of the production and genre. More often than not she’s also demonstrated an incredible penmanship in her songwriting; but even when she opts for more straightforward lyricism, like in her newest single “Starlight,” the track is still an explosion of soul-pop bliss.
A far cry from her gorgeous and isolating post-divorce album Long Live the Angels, “Starlight” is a head rush of intoxicating adoration set over a thrumming deep house beat. It’s a song that’ll take you to the purest of memories, where love is sturdy, cozy, and warm.
For me? It takes me to a chilly August evening in a far away country, where a handsome man led me by hand through a bustling marketplace, the inaudible chattering of the glowing crowd floating in the background. He paused at a vendor stand, and a minute later pressed a cup of mulled wine into my hands, heating my frigid fingertips as the scents of cinnamon, brandy, and Malbec tickled my nostrils. I sipped the drink and exhaled softly, letting the flavors blossom across my tongue while warmth flooded through my body. I tried not to look completely spellbound by him and the world around me.