Like a Christina Aguilera career retrospective, Katy B just keeps getting better.
The UK alt-dance diva got us moving earlier this year with the undeniably infectious throwback “What Love Is Made Of” in May, then had us blubbering on the dance floor with her gloomy throbber, “5 AM.”
But if you thought that song brought on the waterworks, just wait for “Crying For No Reason,” the latest single off of her upcoming sophomore LP, Little Red — and possibly one of her very best songs yet.
Katy B does anguish quite well (see also: “Broken Record”), but this is probably one of Katy’s most heartbreaking offerings yet. The icy electro-ballad builds slowly in the speakers, sort of like Girls Aloud‘s “Untouchable” blended with Robyn‘s “Dancing On My Own.” “Forgive me now, ’cause I said that I’d be there for you, care for you / I let you down, I walked away ’cause there were things I couldn’t say to you, I’m breaking down,” she quivers above the lush, four-to-the-floor synthesized pulsations. It’s gorgeous and vulnerable, and also one of Katy’s most impressive moments vocally — she’s really belting by the time that final chorus comes around.
Allow the pain to hit you full force and let the tears fall down: You’ll be crying for very, very good reason.
‘Little Red’ will be released in early 2014. (iTunes)