UMI, the Seattle bred R&B singer/songwriter released her 4 song EP, “Love Language”, over the course of 4 weeks last month, by releasing one song each week. It is an interesting marketing strategy to help build anticipation for the project. The songs themselves are pretty solid. They all tackle love through the lens of UMI. The strongest song on the project is probably her lead single, “Love Affair.” In this song, she embraces her indecisiveness toward her lover. Throughout the song, she is very unsure of her feelings. She knows she feels strongly about her supposed lover, but due to the fear of her thinking she might not live up to the standard her lover may need, she second-guesses herself. She never knows, she might be missing out on a good thing.
Another great thing I loved about this project was the fact that UMI fully embraced her culture. She is Japanese-American and incorporated her Japanese side within this project. The song “Sukidakara” is mostly sung in Japanese. It flows so smoothly that everything just feels like it fits when she transitions her lyrics to English. Her soothing voice is also what carries the last two songs, the Yeek assisted “Runnin” and “Breathe.”
As far as her catalog, it is not very extensive. This is only her second EP, with only a few other singles to show for herself. She is just getting started. This is an artist whose future can only get brighter. I am excited for what’s to come. UMI has a voice that deserves to be heard by the world, and I am waiting for everyone else to catch on.
