A Kiss Takes The Power From Your Lips

Moonchild featuring Lalah Hathaway “Tell Him”

“Tell Him” feels soft and delicate, but mostly because about trying to maneuver gracefully around tensions. You can feel a bit of anxiety bubble up in the left hand piano notes, but it’s not enough to get in the way of the brighter, more placid chords that set the mood. The vocals by Amber Navran and Lalah Hathaway covers interesting emotional ground – being frustrated in a relationship because verbal communication has been eclipsed by the power of physical intimacy. They’re not unhappy about the sex, but they do feel stifled and disempowered. The best solution they have is to have someone else do the communicating on their behalf, but who knows how well that will go. The song isn’t about telling you how that works out, just letting you linger in this weird space where pleasure and happiness is soured a little by this conundrum.

Buy it from Bandcamp.