Able to combine sweet soulful vocals and sultry romantic lyrics, Kiah Olivea is already making a name in the R&B/soul scene with a voice like a loving embrace on a bad day. The most recent song of hers, which is called Let Love In, is something that captivated me with the very first note, enveloping me in the feeling of airy, soulful warmth, equal parts vulnerable and encompowering. It is the sort of song which you stop whatever you were doing, close your eyes, and enjoy.
The sound in the song is rich and textured to form an emotive background upon which Kiah vocally delivers outstanding performance. The feeling is so much heartfelt and open in her voice and conveys this soulful quality and holds that emotion to come back to long after the song is over. The softness in her voice and diction is intimate as though she is speaking directly to your heart. This song, whose arrangement was created by Josh English (co-written by Amanda Jayne Towler) is perfect in this case, because smooth rhythmic grooves and sensible instrumentation leave her voice lots of room to breathe, without smothering the intimacy.
The fact that the song transports pain to something hopeful hits me most certainly as it is done by the help of the love in. Taking from her own real-life example of heartbreak, Kiah uses it as a reminder that we need to remain open, that healing comes through welcoming back a connection. It is that heart-warming push we all wish we had at times, a way to not feel so alone and a little steadier. Music is a source of comfort to me during my toughest times and this song has brought me, as it does so many other people, composure and uplift.
With many hits to be found in the genre, the rawness and quest that Kiah conveys in her music are remarkable, equal parts emotional and soulful whilst still uplifting. Let Love in is not just another song as it is an invitation to open myself to vulnerability and I will revisit it many times to get that emotional boost. This is your thing in case you feel like you need soul.
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