Somber piano and explosive vocals accompany a reflection on love gone awry in Otto Aday's single “Hearts”.
The track is centered around clarity - looking back on a failed relationship and finally beginning to understand why it did so. With just one listen, you’re taken on a journey through Aday’s sorrow, frustration, and eventual acceptance of the end of his time with this person.
The initial soft vocals and simple piano chords reflect the mourning, and the suddenly explosive chorus almost seems to characterize the frustration - the anger felt when trying to come to terms with the reality of the situation. The return to the somber sound in the second verse begins to feel like a resignation that's bordering on acceptance. The raw power of these vocals, and the way they’re able to bring these emotions to life, immediately caught my attention.
Mourning a relationship while also accepting that it has run its course is incredibly difficult, but at the end of the day, it’s often better for both of the people in a relationship to move on rather than keep dragging out the pain. This track is a beautiful depiction of that sentiment, as Aday is able to perfectly capture the longing for the person before ultimately doing what’s best for them by letting them go.
Agnostic of eras and genres, UK-based singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Otto Aday’s music could be uncorked in any decade and still resonate. Sailing across an ocean of experience, waves of emotion and memories have molded a signature sound for him. It’s anchored in alternative spirit, yet buoyed by blissfully nostalgic melodies, British rock ‘n’ roll energy, and cinematic scope spiked with a bit of sixties psychedelia. After building buzz independently, Otto attracted international icon Dave Stewart, whose short list of accolades include being an inductee of the UK Music Hall of Fame and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame®, four Ivor Novello Awards, four Brit Awards for “Best Producer,” and GRAMMY® Awards — to name a few. With Stewart in his corner, Otto enraptures and fascinates all at once on his 2023 full-length debut album, Persona.
