Power of Three: No Rome Releases New Single with Fellow Filipinos Beabadoobee and Jay Som
As we grow old, often our taste in music stagnates. I’m not speaking for everyone, of course, but, whether we care to admit it or not, for many of us, what we listened to during our formative years (pre-teens to maybe mid-20s) will inform and always take precedence over music we hear at other points in our lives.
This is why it’s often harder for older people to get into newer music. The curmedgeon in all of us will always say things like, “Their earlier stuff was better,” or, “They sure don’t make ‘em like they used to.”
But that’s not the case with No Rome.
The twentysomething Filipino artist broke into the scene with the unbelievably tasty pop gem “Narcissist,” which features British superstars The 1975. As it turns out, that was just a glimpse into the artistry of the homegrown, proudly Filipino singer-songwriter.
No Rome just dropped his latest single, called “Hurry Home” and it’s every bit as satisfying and fun as anything he’s ever done. And on this one, he recruited the talents of fellow Filipinos making waves outside of the motherland—half-British beabadoobee and American-bred Jay Som.
“Hurry Home” starts with gentle strumming on an acoustic guitar—a curiously minimalist approach from someone whose previous tracks almost all benefited from outsize, throw-everything-but-the-kitchen-sink production. When beabadoobee starts singing, and soft percussion is added in, you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s a simple vocals-over-guitar track—breezy, uncomplicated, like a million others that came before it.
Rome adds his verse (“I’m sorry bout that time I met your mother” makes you wonder what happened), before the beat kicks in at 1:31. And that’s when you feel it—that unmistakable energy, the involuntary bob of the head and jerk of the arms and legs. It’s subtle, almost like a gentle nudge.
Jay Som pulls us briefly back to a steady plateau—a quick gulp of oxygen after a deep dive—with pleas of “We’re gonna make this work” and “We can fix it if we want to.” Then tosses it back to Rome for the full snap.
You can choose to look at it as an under four-minute treatise on the complexities of a relationship. Or, you know, a new song to dance along to in your bedroom during quarantine.
It’s an understated track for sure, but one that puts the talents of these three up-and-comers to the fore. Both Beadoobee and Jay Som have been slowly building a fanbase for years, both approaching pop and R&B from different directions and arriving at somewhat similar sounds. The collaboration with No Rome makes sense, then, and “Hurry Home” is a definite homerun.
Listen to "Hurry Home" here:
"Hurry Home" is streaming now on Spotify.
