SOUTHERN RnB CROONER LAELAND ANNOUNCES NEW EP ‘MESSMORE’ (OUT NOV 1)
August 9, 2024 BY Bailey Vigliaturo
Today, Mississippi-based rapper-singer-producer Laeland announces his new EP MESSMORE, out via Nettwerk November 1. Building on the momentum of his 2023 album look at the mess we made, the MESSMORE EP further envelops the many types of “mess” that inform our lives, while making a sonic and spiritual return to his roots in R&B.
Since children, we’re taught all the variations of the word mess; Laeland finds himself identifying with almost every meaning. Where prior works leaned upon the mess of daily life with minimal regard for the consequences, MESSMORE offers a grounded and seasoned grasp on how to move through all his mess and release it through his art. By rejecting perception and leaning into heartache, Laeland’s clumsiness becomes his greatest asset. MESSMORE is about embracing mistakes, working through the inevitability of turmoil, and choosing to honor one’s desires.
With collaborations from Demxntia and Fxrroh, and production from Skinny Atlas and Boy Nobody, MESSMORE grants new depths to Laeland’s high-stakes emotional trademarks. From the structures to the songwriting, this project finds Laeland departing from his most popular sound of emotive, versatile lofi, to recontextualize his voice (and soul) and their most free and daring.
Today, Laeland unveils “AFTER CARE,” the fourth single from MESSMORE. This beautiful downtempo RnB ballad brings to mind the nerves and insecurity that come with catching feelings for someone: “Hanging by a thread / Trying to get that text / Trying to get that message.” A soulful exploration of love and lust with an old-school feel, “AFTER CARE” is a track that Real Lovers will relate to, maybe too well.
All in all, MESSMORE is an invitation to be bold, to be unafraid to risk it all in service of one’s essence. At his most unquestionably R&B, Laeland puts his musical and emotional maturity on full display, simultaneously honoring his past and tending to his spirit.
AFTER CARE is available at digital retailers here: https://laeland.ffm.to/aftercare
