George Riley: More Is More

"At the turn of the last century, contemporary R&B entered a second adolescence. The power ballads of the 1990s were fading out, replaced by crossover hits that pushed the limits of the genre by incorporating dance, electro, and hip-hop into visions of a glittering future. The 28-year-old singer George Riley was born as this cultural transition kicked off-and her new mixtape, the shiny, upbeat, slightly irreverent More Is More, makes a close study of early '00s pop."

"Riley's performances supply the vitality and wit that's quickly become her trademark among the UK's most exciting new R&B voices. She arrived on the scene barely four years ago, lending her breathy soprano to Manchester producer Azn's ebullient dance track " You Could Be"; her 2022 Vegyn-produced breakthrough, Running in Waves, showed a softer side, marrying jazz and soul influences with jungle and electro flourishes."

"Riley makes no attempt to hide her influences or to couch them in anything but fervent appreciation. By her own admission, opener "Something New" borrows heavily from All for You-era Janet Jackson; its bubbly, tropical beat and skittering hi-hats recall " Someone to Call My Lover," a song that's recently led the Y2K R&B revival trend on TikTok. Riley goe"

At the turn of the last century, contemporary R&B entered a second adolescence as crossover hits incorporated dance, electro, and hip-hop. George Riley's new mixtape More Is More closely studies early '00s pop, combining retro acoustic guitar samples and house-indebted synths with rich vocals and radio-ready choruses. Riley's performances supply vitality and wit, building on prior releases that ranged from breathy dance tracks to Vegyn-produced jazz-soul hybrids and UK garage features. The mixtape openly honors producers like Dallas Austin, Darkchild, Jermaine Dupri, and Timbaland while blasting their techniques into the present with a bolder, grander, and tighter musical approach.

Read at Pitchfork