Teenage Curb Records signing Owen Rivera releases a brand new single, ‘LaiLuv’, perfectly in time for summer. The track is a sun-drenched slice of pop that wastes no time getting to the point. A tropical melody, stacked vocal harmonies, and a production that feels as warm and unhurried as an evening that refuses to end. Rivera tells a story of summer love and late-night drives with the kind of lightness that’s genuinely difficult to manufacture and sounds so natural.
That’s partly down to the songwriting. ‘LaiLuv’ was penned by GRAMMY Award-winning producer Michael Lloyd and Emmy Award winner Greg O’Connor, and the pedigree shows in all the right ways; the hook is immediate without feeling forced, the arrangement leaves room to breathe, and the whole thing is over before you’ve had a chance to want it to be.
At nineteen, Rivera is already an unusually well-rounded talent, multi-instrumentalist, drummer, voice actor, and songwriter, with stage experience alongside names like Mavis Staples and Graham Nash that most artists twice his age would envy. None of that biography feels relevant while the song is playing, which is perhaps the greatest compliment you can pay it. ‘LaiLuv’ doesn’t ask you to be impressed. It just asks you to enjoy yourself.
