REVIEW: Cece Bullard — You’re Looking At Me (SINGLE)
There’s something special about a song you’d describe as “romantic”, without being a song about straight-faced boy-meets-girl romance. “You’re Looking At Me” from Jazz singer/songwriter Cece Bullard is like a love letter to the self. For a song that’s so strongly put together, it walks that perfect balance of rigidity and fluidity. Bullard has been a growing jazz staple for some time now, inspired as a kid and even getting to have a memorable encounter with the late Ella Fitzgerald. Her passion is smeared across an auditory canvas with her clear and moody vocals, and it’s served by steady percussion and some truly beautiful and skilled key tickling. I deeply love the song, that despite being a rather introspective piece that sees Bullard make a declaration of her own identity, both good and bad, the song itself is so malleable I want to see it utilized in other media.
URL: https://cecebullardmusic.com/#
Much like the iconic similarly crooning vocals of Mireille Dalbray on the iconic sounds of Cortex, “You’re Looking at Me” is a song that’s almost begging to be sampled by the electronic and hip-hop community. It’s a song that is everlasting, something that feels like it’s existed forever and a track I want to see have much longevity through a constant introduction to others from passionate fans like myself. It’s the kind of sound that stirs up our collective nostalgia. Jazz is and will always be a tricky genre to write about for countless reasons.
To the younger generations, it’s not something thought of much beyond cafe music or the offhand Sinatra joke (for the record Bullard is a noted Sinatra fan and thankfully doesn’t succumb to his imitator’s shortcomings) and so a lot of people don’t know how to articulate “This is worth listening to if you aren’t a Jazz fan”. I’m not certain I won’t be in that company, but let me be very clear when I say that this is one of the cleanest, atmospheric and exciting tracks I’ve listened to all year. I want to hear this song in films, TV, I want to hear covers from other artists, I want a vinyl of this song. It’s revitalized my love for Jazz as a genre and has strongly put Bullard on my radar as someone to especially look out for as live performances slowly return to us.
AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/Youre-Looking-At-Me/dp/B08ZNXKS4T
The strength of the lyricism and its undeniably catchy hook can’t be understated. Bullard examines herself in such a thought-provoking and honest way, but never devolves into naval gazing and that’s in part by her affable nature, and also how so much of it feels tongue-in-cheek. It’s like if the phrase “If you can’t accept me at my worst, you can’t handle me at my best” was a song, but without the cloying feeling, those words now give people. Bullard and her team have struck lightning in a bottle with a song that feels like it’s existed for decades, but should truly have its day in the sun, right here and right now.
Colin Jordan
