Carly Shea’s latest release, “Take It Personal,” is a shimmering, slow-burn reflection on memory, heartbreak, and the blurred edges of nostalgia. It’s the kind of alternative R&B-pop hybrid that doesn’t demand your attention—it earns it through restraint, detail, and emotional nuance.
Shot by Matthew Canals in Queens, New York, the accompanying video captures that same fragile balance between intimacy and distance. Over a glass of wine, Shea begins in quiet contemplation, letting the camera linger long enough for stillness to feel cinematic. As the video drifts into the city’s backstreets, the clean lines of blazers and apartment interiors dissolve into graffiti-smeared walls and shifting colors. The visual distortion at the end mirrors the song’s pitched-down outro—a sonic metaphor for how love’s clarity often fades into abstraction when replayed in our minds.
“Take It Personal” marks a new chapter for Shea: her first release under United Masters and the follow-up to her Grammy ballot-featured “Feel Like This.” While that track leaned more into polished pop, this one sounds like an artist folding into herself, drawing power from subtlety rather than scale. Her vocals glide over the production with both precision and ache, recalling the cool introspection of artists like Snoh Aalegra and BANKS, but with a rawness that feels distinctly her own.
Beyond its genre labels, “Take It Personal” succeeds because it feels lived-in—beautifully imperfect, like the memory of a love that once made perfect sense. It’s not a breakup anthem; it’s a mood, a recollection, a half-faded photograph you keep finding in the back of your mind. With each release, Carly Shea continues proving she’s not just chasing moments—she’s documenting them.
Featured Image: Artist Supplied
