DRAMA, for those of you who may not be familiar, has long served as one of the best juxtapositions in Chicago music. The pairing of Na’el Shehade and Via Rosa, at once a peculiar experiment, has since metastasized into a full-grown behemoth on the verge of breaking through to the next layer beyond what they hometown has to offer. As it stands, the release of their latest project, Lies After Love found the pair already beginning to realize the lengths their talent can take them, and here they continue the downtrodden party ever forward with a talented offering of tracks that familiarly keep it real while staying ever more hopeful for what’s ahead.
Since 2015 or so, Shehade and Rosa have developed a distinct sound that plays on the uplifting production of Shehade while leaning into the thick, soulful storytelling that Rosa exudes with ease. Typical for them, the project is a short one clocking in at five songs. Despite the short order, the project packs a punch, ruminating on the united understanding of heartbreak, losing another and generally feeling forgotten by a loved one. Everyone who’s tried to live life has found themselves there before, and we all choose to believe in varied cliches to get ourselves through. It’s with that very distinct, very vulnerable lane that Rosa and Shehade guide us down. Describing it themselves, they say in a press release that the project is “the affirmations and lies that people tell themselves to get over heartbreak. We’ve all been there. So let’s heartbreak together.” Indeed. Catch the whole project up top and, of course, at Mild Sauce Radio.