Queer altpop artist Ian Abel releases new electronic single "The Way I Feel About You".
This such a cute little pop love song bound to make you feel good. There is an endearing dorkiness to Abel which makes his music feel relatable and fun. “The Way I Feel About You” is peppy and cheerful, yet manages to blend in Abel’s signature soulful vocals, layered background harmonies, and glitched-out samples. The lyrics, which evoke a gay schoolboy crush, are similarly infectious and fun. I love to see an LGBTQ artist making fun pop waves in a way that feels fresh, fun, and authentic.
“I was a total nerd back in highschool, and honestly I’m still a nerd today. So I wanted to write a song from that bookish perspective,” says Abel. “And it kind of turned into a slightly naughty student-teacher fantasy… I mean, we’ve all been there.”
The song is accompanied by a similarly campy lyric video, which doubles as a love letter to his childhood. The video is a DIY, VHS, Lisa Frank’d delight; featuring trolls, Gelly Roll pens, 90s cartoons, and more nostalgic goodness.
Ian Abel is, at the bottom of it all, a queer comic book nerd with a heart of gold. With an oh-so-smooth velvety voice and sensual, psychedelic electro-pop arrangements, he’s like if Sam Smith met Robyn or Jessie Ware met James Blake, all with a side of Peter Gabriel. He’s not just your standard indie voice.
For well over a decade, Ian has been an artist and performer. He has performed around the world and with greats like Nile Rodgers, Jimmy Fallon, and the SNL band. He has sung onstage at Carnegie Hall, on Chinese national television, and in festivals in Sun Valley, New York, and Edinburgh.
He released his debut EP “Icarus” in 2016, and his songs and videos have been featured on Howl & Echoes, Wolf In a Suit, Clout, Indietronica, Milk Crater, Cougar Microbes, and Spotify’s Fresh Finds.
He began writing and performing original music in 2013 while attending Berklee College of Music in Boston. Since moving back to New York in 2014, he has become an installation at venues all across the city, most frequently the famed Rockwood Music Hall in the Lower East Side.
Review by Hannah Schneider