Loving someone can lead you to do some pretty dumb things: you dwell on a text for 20 minutes, read signs of great potential into a totally standard interaction and overlook red flags left and right when the energy is right. “Roll” by Drea Dominique is about the fun part of all that – falling for someone without the unnecessary trauma.
A Miami native R&B singer provides a laid-back easy sound on this one, which could easily be the soundtrack to a late-night cruise with a person you secretly love more than you want to admit. Everything feels easy here, anchored by a slow groove that gives the song space to breathe. Nothing about this feels pushy or hard to get your attention.
“Roll” is from Dominique’s Romantic Tragedies phase, a body of work that stems from having lost someone she loved. With that in mind, the playful air of the song is a pleasant departure. Instead of wallowing another three minutes in heartbreak, Dominique has the chance to write about what it feels like when you’re ready to have fun being into someone once more. That’s a refreshing alternative to the messiness of romance, particularly for an overthinker like her.
That’s the beauty of the song. Dominique isn’t overcomplicating a simple concept with a million metaphors and filler lines to make every single lyric sound like it belongs in the montage at the end of a breakup film. “Roll” is perfectly happy to live in the joy of having a crush and wanting to see what happens. You don’t always need a lyrically innovative song to prove your point: Sometimes you just want a track to listen to while you’re doing your decision-making.
“Roll” doesn’t need to break new ground to make its mark. It’s aware of the mood it wants to create and not only delivers on that front, but keeps walking the walk. And for all the time you’ve wasted trying not to like them, sometimes a song is just better off playing along.
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About the Author
A tenured media critic known working as a ghost writer, freelance critic for various publications around the world, the former lead writer of review blogspace Atop The Treehouse and content creator for Manila Bulletin.
