The Torment of Trauma Bonded Affection Oscillates Through GISELLE’s 90s RnB Hit, COMPLICATED –

GISELLE poured fire and fury into sensuality with COMPLICATED, her latest RnB single and music video. Exploring the emotional complexity of a trauma bond and the silent spite of turning a blind eye to indiscretions to keep someone close, the LA singer-songwriter exhibits how nothing feels fair in love and war. As much as we want to believe monochrome lines are drawn in right and wrong, everything turns into a haze of grey when love sweeps you up in its kaleidoscope of raw pain and devotion. GISELLE visualised the mess of being attached in an emotional cacophony without missing a pixel.

The atmospherically heavy production keys right into the moody 90s RnB movement, when empowering hits started taking over the airwaves, but COMPLICATED is so much more than a washout of nostalgia. GISELLE toys with synth-heavy reverberations to make the weight of the release ache before lifting the timbre with piano melodies that shine the sombre light of reclamation into the standout single.

Originally from Boston and raised in Buffalo, GISELLE has been singing since childhood and writing music since she was eight, moving to Los Angeles at 21. Her multi-instrumentalist background, spanning piano, drums, guitar, violin and ukulele, feeds into a sound that refuses containment. With performances at The Hotel Cafe, The Mint, The Viper Room and Whisky a Go Go, COMPLICATED feels ready to push her further. The video takes you back to the MTV era; if they aired this, GISELLE would be an overnight sensation.

COMPLICATED is now available to stream on all major platforms, including YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast