(November 27, 2017) Depending on the activity or the mindset, rain is an inconvenience, a sleeper’s soundtrack or the backdrop of an under-the-covers interlude; whether it’s slow and steady or wild like a tempest, that’s the kind of storm that love creates and what’s Lydell Williams is singing about in the slow-burner “Rain.”
A Virginia-based performer by way of Arkansas, Williams has built a name and a following for himself by showcasing his talents on the East coast, opening for the likes of Dave Hollister, Eric Roberson and Raheem Devaughn. Aspects of monogamy and “four years of pain” is how he characterizes what fueled his latest independent collection, The Sounds of My Melodies, but just one listen to the lush instrumentation, layered vocals and anguished delivery (“I wanna feel it with you, as it falls against the windowpane”) recalls 70s-era sophistication and soul. A heads-up; don’t let the title and languid pacing fool you: Lydell’s confident proclamation to “teach you some thangs” while “tracing your silhouette” and beyond could actually heat things up instead cooling them off. Precipitation or no.
Lydell Williams – “Rain”
