Olivia Dean The Art Of Loving

Critic's Take

In this review the rising British neo-soulist Olivia Dean is praised for a warmly assured voice and classic songwriting on The Art Of Loving, with the review highlighting “Nice to Each Other” and “So Easy (To Fall In Love)” as the album's clearest charms. The critic admiringly notes the spare, Motown-tinged arrangements and pinpoint details - the five-note piano motif on “Nice to Each Other” and the double-time horns on “Let Alone the One You Love” - which elevate Dean's small marvels into genuine moments. Yet the voice is measured: some songs, like “Close Up” and “Baby Steps”, tip into pastiche, suggesting Dean's meticulous replicas are nearly impeccable but could use more risk. Overall the review positions these as the best tracks on The Art Of Loving, arguing they show why Dean could craft future classics while noting she must start "throwing some paint" to fully flourish.

Key Points

• The best song is "Nice To Each Other" because its led single status, piano motif, and quoted lyric embody the album's classic-pop strengths.
• The album’s core strengths are Dean’s warm, assured voice and meticulous, retro-minded arrangements that make small details shine.

Themes

Critic's Take

It’s rare to hear music this deep and breezy, and Olivia Dean pulls it off across The Art Of Loving. The reviewer singles out “Man I Need” as the centrepiece, and praises “Nice To Each Other” and “I’ve Seen It” for their casual profundity. The album’s best tracks - notably “Man I Need” and “Nice To Each Other” - balance plush soul-pop arrangements with wise, conversational lyricism, making them the standout songs on The Art Of Loving. Overall the record de-complicates romance with warmth and sussed-up hope, which is why listeners searching for the best tracks on The Art Of Loving should start with those songs.

Key Points

• “Man I Need” is the best song because it is called the centrepiece and praised for its catchy keyboard riff and uplifting chorus.
• The album’s core strength is its consistent ‘breezy-but-deep’ approach, blending plush soul-pop arrangements with intimate, wise lyricism.

Themes

Critic's Take

Olivia Dean keeps returning to the messy, luminous work of loving on The Art Of Loving, and the best songs - notably “Let Alone the One You Love” and “So Easy (To Fall In Love)” - show why. Her voice and the band lock into a Motown-meets-jazz groove that makes “So Easy (To Fall In Love)” a saccharine jazz-pop standout, while the aching depth of “Let Alone the One You Love” pushes Dean toward classic R&B heights. Tracks like “Loud” and “Close Up” provide the melancholic pockets where the album truly breathes, and the title track ties the record together with rueful wisdom. This is an album that toys with distance and desire, and its best songs make that tension feel inevitable and rewarding.

Key Points

• "Let Alone the One You Love" is the best song because it is called a career high point and compared to major classic R&B figures.
• The album’s core strengths are Dean’s vocal charisma, tightly arranged band performances, and its Motown/jazz-inflected emotional restraint.

Themes

Critic's Take

Olivia Dean's The Art of Loving centres on intimacy and restraint, and the review persuasively points to “Loud” and “Close Up” as the album's best songs. The writer praises the swooning title opener and highlights “Loud” as "her most vulnerable and ambitious moment", while noting the Winehouse-inspired soul of “Close Up” and the lo-fi warmth of “Nice To Each Other”. There is admiration for Dean's crystalline, layered voice throughout, even as the critic warns the record can feel overly cautious and sometimes slide into sameness. Overall the piece frames the album as exactly what her audience wanted - strong vocals and moments of real emotional payoff even if pacing and arrangements occasionally blur together.

Key Points

• The best song, "Loud", is singled out as the record's high point for its vulnerability and cinematic arrangement.
• The album's core strengths are Dean's crystalline, layered vocals and clear, restrained production that foregrounds lyrics.

Themes

Critic's Take

Olivia Dean's The Art of Loving finds its best tracks in playful, immediate moments like “Nice To Each Other” and the fluttering “Man I Need”, songs that put Dean the popstar at her best with earworm melodies and warm arrangements. The breezy bossa-nova of “So Easy (To Fall In Love)” and the quietly uneasy “Something Inbetween” extend the album's exploration of love, making them must-hear picks among the best songs on The Art of Loving. Even when slower cuts like “Let Alone The One You Love” and “Loud” underwhelm, the record largely cements her ascent with moments that will make you laugh, dance and cry.

Key Points

• The best song is 'Nice To Each Other' because it showcases Dean's popstar instincts with playful lyrics and earworm melody.
• The album’s core strengths are Dean's distinct vocals, warm arrangements, and a thematic focus on various facets of love.

Themes

Critic's Take

Olivia Dean keeps the tender truths at the centre of The Art of Loving, and the best songs - notably “So Easy (To Fall In Love)” and “Man I Need” - show why. The record leans into candid vulnerability while broadening her palette, so “So Easy (To Fall In Love)” charms with playful instrumentation and vocal inflections. Chart-topper “Man I Need” remains a standout for its vibrant, danceable production and assertive voice. Closer to the emotional core, “Loud” reaches a deeper level of sincerity, its raw lyricism giving the album weight and warmth.

Key Points

• Man I Need is the best song because it is called a chart-topping standout with vibrant, danceable production and an assertive voice.
• The album’s core strengths are candid vulnerability, matured songwriting and lush, varied production that keeps familiar territory feeling fresh.

Themes

Critic's Take

Olivia Dean's The Art Of Loving feels like a conscious step into sunlit 70s LA pop, and the best songs - “Man I Need” and “Nice To Each Other” - wear that gloss well. The reviewer traces how tidy choruses and cinematic production lift tracks such as “Baby Steps” and “I’ve Seen It”, making them immediate standouts. It praises Dean's diaristic lyrics and unforced vocal touch, arguing the album finds her voice rather than merely ticking boxes. The result is mainstream commercial pop that still feels natural and oddly inevitable in the charts.

Key Points

• The best song, "Man I Need", is best because of its chart dominance and global Spotify play that underscore its instant-pop appeal.
• The album's core strengths are polished, 70s-tinged production and diaristic, unforced vocals that make mainstream pop feel natural.

Themes

Critic's Take

Olivia Dean’s The Art Of Loving keeps the warmth and emotional transparency that marked her earlier work, with standouts like “Loud” and “So Easy (To Fall In Love)” crystallising the album’s strengths. Emma Way’s prose is observant and affectionate, noting how lighter moments - “Nice To Each Other” and “Lady Lady” - flirt with flamboyance while heartland tracks broaden into cinematic choruses. The record balances reflective tenderness and assured pop craft, and the best songs show Dean communicating relationship complexities with simplicity and conviction. This is an album of lessons - independence, letting go, knowing your worth - delivered without ever feeling didactic.

Key Points

• The best song, “Loud”, is best for its soaring vocals, cinematic strings, and emotional transparency.
• The album’s core strengths are warmth, reflective tenderness, and clear communication of relationship complexities.

Themes

Critic's Take

Olivia Dean’s The Art Of Loving finds its best songs in moments of intimate clarity, notably “Lady Lady” and “A Couple Minutes”. The reviewer lingers on “Lady Lady” as the album’s warm, understated centerpiece where Dean’s voice swirls up to strange new heights, and praises “A Couple Minutes” as the quiet, compelling lullaby that crystallises the record’s intent. Even when production pulls her toward glossy pop on songs like “Man I Need”, the strongest tracks keep her defiantly at the centre of the romantic core, which is what makes these best tracks on The Art Of Loving so affecting.

Key Points

• The best song, "Lady Lady", is the album’s warm, understated centerpiece where Dean’s voice achieves striking heights.
• The album’s core strengths are intimate vocal storytelling and moments of quiet clarity balanced against polished production.

Themes