Hope Tala's "Mad" Sublimely Captures a Relationship on the Brink
Photo: Alex "Grizz" Loucas
Hope Tala's music is a lucid daydream given sonic form. Melding turn-of-the-century R&B with an intoxicating bossa nova sensibility, the London native transforms loss, love, coming-of-age into a sublime escape. "Mad," and its eye-catching video, arrives as the latest chapter of this transformative act.
"Mad" marks Tala's first release of 2021, following last year's critically-acclaimed EP, Girl Eats Sun. Written weeks before UK entered its first lockdown and produced by Paul Epworth, the London native chronicles a relationship on the brink with a serene poise, betraying the underlying tension brewing just beneath the surface.
“I wrote ‘Mad’ about having feelings of frustration and hysteria in a long-distance relationship. It's about being unable to communicate properly and feeling lost in loneliness - so it's ironic that I wrote most of the song a week or two before the first lockdown started in the UK. Foreshadowing, almost,” shares Tala.
The prophetic nature of "Mad" takes shape in a track whose driving tropical fervor masks a growing disconnect between our star and unnamed subject of discontent. It is a mounting frustration that Tala's angelic vocals can only impede for so long, eventually giving way to a repeated confession amidst a swirling influx of instrumentation.
Watch the "Mad" video below:
