Although having a great deal of musical experience already under his belt, having played since the age of 15 under his usual name, it was at the start of 2019 in which Tarun Shah’s musical alias, Seeva, really began to blossom.
By collaborating with the Brighton-based artist La Lune, Seeva had released the debut single under the new name, which was given the title “Heartstop.”, and many of those listening, both fans and critics alike, gave the much-deserved adulation towards Seevas fantastic vocals.
But within the year of 2019, we were also treated to a few more solo releases from Seeva, which would introduce more about the artist’s Years & Years-esque style to new listeners. But what many were not aware of, was that these few releases were an indication of something huge, that was bubbling beneath the surface.
And that huge something, was a project that came to light in 2020, the debut album from Seeva; We Need To Talk.
Given that the album title is identical to the lyric on ‘Hopscotch’ (which is the only 2019 release to feature on this debut album), it might be fair to say that this musical project was something that was heavily pre-meditated, and most likely the big moment that Seeva has been building up towards over almost two years.
But on the subject of building things up, Seeva has already had one very productive year in 2020 and would’ve still remained so even without a debut album on the horizon. Following the first single release of 2020, titled ‘Clouds’, Seeva then released an EP, which essentially served as one full half of the upcoming album. Given the title, We Need To Talk – Chapter I, the five-track EP featured ‘Clouds’, ‘Hopscotch’, and a few fresh listens.
The teasing then continued with a few more single releases, which included a remix for the EP’s fourth track ‘Breathing’, featuring the vocal talent of Emma Seeberg, along with the bright and sassy ‘Young’, and finally the amazingly deep and intimate ‘Princess’ as the final teaser track.
And as if all of the amazing 2020 material that Seeva has dropped down from the musical heavens wasn’t enough, we now finally arrive at the long-awaited debut album, which unlike the EP, has a bit more leeway to include more features, thanks to its greater length. As a result, the original rendition of ‘Breathing’ has now been replaced by the remix with Emma Seeberg for the album, which we feel is a brilliant way to give the remix a bit more of the love that it truly deserves.
And while all of the teasers that we’ve grown so familiar with over the months are spread out in a way that tie this album together in a perfectly neat fashion, the fresh listens most certainly stand at the same level of enjoyment as all of the teaser tracks, and many of them do their part in hammering down the narrative of this debut project. Some shining examples of this include the ‘Worship’ interlude that appears roughly in the middle of the project, and ‘Outro’, which serves as a sister-track to the ‘Intro’, that appears on both the EP and the album.
We are also treated to a brand new track which features the likes of Jess Young and euan i with ‘I Don’t Mind’ which almost has a trap-style beat in regards to it’s pacing, and offers a moodier atmosphere that contributes to just how diverse the range of moods that this project offers.
And the final new track to talk about is ‘Would You Lie To Me?’, which begins in a similar way to how ‘Clouds’ began but gains a nocturnally electronic atmosphere from the moment that the second verse kicks in.
At this point, it’s not even just our own bias towards Seeva that fuels our complete adoration of this phenomenal project; the stellar production succeeds in giving every song it’s own character and sense of enjoyment. But of course, the real cream-of-the-crop of this album has to be Seeva’s vocal range, which is absolutely second-to-none.
We feel that Seeva is amongst the most talented vocalists that we have regularly covered on Indie Top 39, and with this grand debut album, the core theme that it wields; a story of relationships, heartbreak, and self-discovery, is made all the more convincing with the raw emotion that Seeva gushes into every crevice of each track.
We must say that it has been a phenomenal honour to watch Seeva completely blossom as the immensely talented and powerful artist that absolutely champions every aspect of this debut album. It seems out of the question whether there is a bright future ahead of Seeva or not, because We Need To Talk has practically confirmed that this Seeva has earned a glorious musical future, and then some.
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