Firing up a brawl-starting groove like a classic country-inspired band, the supporting players know they’re going to have to do a lot to keep up with Queeva in her new single “Over Time,” and their passionate play reflects this. They hit the ground running in this track by tying together the rhythm and the molten-hot melody right out of the box, encouraging us to drift ever closer to the swing of the verse while hinting at a mystique soon to be revealed by the lead singer herself. Queeva has developed quite the cult following over the last couple of years, and when taking in the work she lays down in “Over Time,” it’s easy to understand why she’s remained as popular as she has since first coming into the spotlight.
URL: https://www.queevamusic.com/
Lyrics are always an essential part of any track like this, but when they’re under the direction of a singer/songwriter like Queeva, they take on a second life that goes well beyond the limitations of linguistics from a conventional pop perspective. One of the most alluring compositional elements of “Over Time” is the way the words are almost constantly tethered to a corresponding beat, separating the percussion from the melodicism and introducing more of a stomp with each passing verse. This is a powerhouse single as much about poetic showmanship as it is about executional flamboyancy, and as much as the minimalist pop movement is trending in 2022, something like this is refreshing to come by.
Even in the most intense moments this song is sporting, Queeva is very calm in her performance. She’s completely at home with the fiery nature of the harmonies and the ebbtide created by the rhythm of the drums; truth be told, I think some of her best work has centered on chaos more than flowing melodic simplicity. It takes a special kind of singer to take on bluesy material like that of “Over Time,” and rather than trying to portray some sort of character in relation to the story being told here, this artist is putting herself into the blue hue of the narrative and thus making every lyric sound like something straight out of her own heart. You can’t put a price on authenticity like that, nor can any of us afford to scoff at it considering how rare such an attribute has become.
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I’ve been familiar with Queeva for a couple of years now, and in the course of that time I’ve seen her remain as consistent as it gets in this business with one significant asterisk – her growth has never been hindered by her own aesthetical ambition. She’s a versatile player who has never had to compress her artistry for the sake of fitting into some label exec’s predesigned box; her music is a bit of a testament to going upstream when everyone else is trying to go with the flow. I admire her tenacity and the talent she’s cultivated, and if you appreciate authentic pop charm as I do, I think you’re going to enjoy “Over Time” this November.
Garth Thomas