LIT. MAJOR – Friend/Lover Review

A bond is made and the transition is explained by LIT. Major on their latest track, Friend / Lover. The two are entwined yet from title alone feel separate and cold. This is the consistent, formidable appeal of LIT. Major, an artist who has handled their emotional range with care. In turn, it makes it all the warmer to feel our way through the shadows, to understand the flourishes of a heart and brain in opposition. We all strive for clarity of the heart, but few will figure it out. Fewer still will treasure it. In the meantime, then, we listen to those who are trying to publicly oust or recapture their sense of self and the ripples of joy which preceded the fall. Friend / Lover gets to grips with this on a touching, stripped-back experience.  

There is a mellow joy to the opening moments of Friend / Lover. LIT. Major makes it clear we are not to be blamed when we fall back into those nostalgic days of old. We are only human and to stare at the past is only fair. But doing so is painted as a failure, not of the self but of the desire to move on to bigger and better experiences. It is the past for a reason and reflecting on it is all we can do. Friend / Lover does just this with an open and honest collection of well-toned instrumentals. LIT. Major remains an exciting artist not just for their tonal abilities but for how they conjures those expressions of anxiety in the face of making life-altering choices. Their brush with slight pangs of confusion spilling into rage for those who cannot move on is all too real, all too touching.  

Friend / Lover remains the outsider perspective. Removed from intimate facets and the ties which bind us to people we no longer need in our lives, it is all too easy to dispel them. As should be the case, we cannot claw for reason when the heart is involved in decision-making with such brutal repercussions. There are those we will never see again yet think of until our death. Friend / Lover is a lament to those whose paths we shall never cross. In doing so, LIT. Major presents a heartstring-pulling powerhouse, filled with brass beauties and wonderful instrumental tones which build and build, rising to an inevitable crescendo towards the end. Perhaps friends are the more important part to hold onto. 

Or maybe not. Friend / Lover has a sense of self-respect and the lack of it which comes from fawning for someone no longer around. LIT. Major has carefully crafted a thought-provoking piece of work, one of their best yet and a real sign of furiously good work ahead of the release of I’m Glad This Has Been So Easy for You. All roads point to redemption of the self in the face of prying eyes who know they have nothing more to say, but everything to learn from the rebounds and rebuild which comes from the fallout of a relationship. Friend, lover, colleague, it is all the same in the minefield of emotional tribulations. LIT. Major gets what few artists do and provides a rooted honesty which lets this song flourish.