The Little Black Dress, or LBD as it’s often abbreviated to, is an item of clothing synonymous with sensuality, confidence, venturing into the world and feeling one’s best self. For many people, donning that LBD (or their own material equivalent) means stepping into a world of fantasy, where anything is possible. This is an ethos we can hear in The Isle of CC‘s long-awaited comeback single suitably titled ‘Little Black Dress’.
This smooth jazz and sultry soul track embodies the British artist’s gradual realisation of her/his gender fluidity. It starts out with tranquil instrumentation and gentle vocals melodies, before the confidence, and therefore the sound, builds up into one of resplendent discovery. That being said, the path isn’t straight forward either, as the artist sings around the one minute mark, “I don’t know what’s right”, in the run up to the crescendo-like “so many things I wanna say!” with the extra soulful backing vocalist to give this statement that extra oomph.
After the first burst of crashing drums, heated bass and funky guitars, we sink back down into introspective quietude as The Isle of CC take us further through his/her thought process. However, that boldness is never too far away and you’ll sense a re-emerging energy as we approach the last minute of the song. The artist invites listeners to “look into my eyes, see the inner glow”, while the vibrant soundtrack with it’s bouncing guitar rhythm, enthusiastic percussion and gospel keys reflects her/his self-assured character.
As a fellow journalist, it’s only proper that we put The Isle of CC‘s own words alongside the gorgeous ‘Little Black Dress’ to provide more insight:
“At its core, the song is about the fantasy of a relationship, but not truly being in one. I’ve written the lead and backing vocals in such a way that the song ebbs and flows between fantasy and reality. The experiences that led to ‘Little Black Dress’ taught me growth not only as an artist, but as a human being. I felt that ‘Little Black Dress’ should be the single to lead the ‘Void’ EP as it represents the middle of my journey, not quite being happy alone, but also not sure I wanted to be with anyone else. It seems to be the stage that people don’t often sing about, it’s either ‘I’m so lonely’ or ‘fuck everyone I’m fine’… I hope that it will resonate with listeners in that middle ground, I think it will!”
You can also find ‘Little Black Dress’ in our Soul & Grooves playlist.
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