Silk Rhodes – “Pains”

One of the going theories on the prevalence of love songs in popular music has to do with the sheer lousiness of language. The word “love” just kinda hangs there—flaccid, overused, meaning everything and nothing.

Put a slinky guitar and some aching vocals behind the sentiment, and you might be onto something. The simplest words turn into potent knee-wobblers when accompanied by a steady rhythm and a slow build: “how DOES it feel,” spaketh D’Angelo.

And, don’t even get started on music’s superiority to our puny utterances when it comes to expressing heartbreak. Only an amateur wallows without a soundtrack. Fortunately, the latest in stripped-down, soul sensualists, Silk Rhodes, is here to help you pick up the pieces with “Pains,” the first single off their self-titled debut LP.

Under the Silk Rhodes banner, producer Michael Collins and vocalist Sasha Desree have given us a minimal vision of soul’s future, along with the message that “all things must change and remain.” I’m not exactly sure what that means, but it sounds right when delivered with smoldering, early 21st century grace over Collins’ laid-back groove.

So, pour yourself a glass of Courvoisier, think of loves lost, and let the music do the talking—it’s better at it than you are.

Silk Rhodes is scheduled for a 12/2 release from Stones Throw Records.