"It's Not Over" is a song recorded by American

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

singer Curtis Harding. It was released digitally as a single on June 5, 2018, by

Anti- Anti- is an American record label founded in 1999 as a sister label to Epitaph Records. Founded by Andy Kaulkin, Anti- first gained attention by releasing Tom Waits's Grammy Award–winning '' Mule Variations'' in 1999. Other veteran recordin ...

and

Epitaph Records Epitaph Records is an American independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. A large portion of the record label, known as Hellcat Records, is owned by Tim Armstrong, frontman of the punk rock band Rancid. Several ...

in advance of Harding's tour opening for

Lenny Kravitz Leonard Albert Kravitz (born May 26, 1964) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, and actor. His debut album ''Let Love Rule (Lenny Kravitz album), Let Love Rule'' (1989) was characterized by a blend of Rock music, rock ...

. Anchored in soul with

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

and

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary mental states (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips") and a perceived "expansion of consciousness". Also referred to as classic halluci ...

flourishes, the song is optimistic: "You may think it's over, but it's not the end," Harding sings. Music critics commended his vocals and the song's composition and

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

Composition

"It's Not Over" is built out of a bassline with

-tinged guitar and organ; brief

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

parts add to the song's

nature. Called "buoyant" and "soulful" and featuring an upbeat

brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...

section, the song is representative of Harding's sound:

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in African-American culture, African-American African-American neighborhood, communities throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps ...

augmented with attributes from psychedelia and a "judicious approach to arrangement." Compared to his previous songs, some compositional choices made "It's Not Over" a smoother tune—like what reviewer Russell Rockwell called "oozing lava lamp riffs", "velvety backing vocals", and a "discotheque vibraphone riff". A Spanish-language music website wrote that the song "seduced us with elegant sound waves that flirt with the psychedelic". Lyrically, the song is uplifting, and brass hits add to the positive tone. As Harding accepts the exhaustion of those in need of reprieve, he encourages everyone to carry on: "Though life has its struggles / And its ups and downs / See, you are the fighter, baby / It's only the first round." His delivery was compared to his contemporaries

Michael Kiwanuka Michael Samuel Kiwanuka (born 3 May 1988) is a British singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is currently signed to Polydor Records. His debut album '' Home Again'' (2012) went gold in the United Kingdom, while his second album ...

and

Leon Bridges Todd Michael "Leon" Bridges (born July 13, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He signed with Columbia Records to release his debut studio album, '' Coming Home'' (2015), which peaked at number six on the ''Billboard'' ...

Release and promotion

As a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

, "It's Not Over" was released jointly by

and

on June 5, 2018. The single cover shows a recumbent Harding wearing a

Gucci Guccio Gucci S.p.A., doing business as Gucci ( , ), is an Italian Luxury goods, luxury fashion house based in Florence. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and ...

suit. "It's Not Over" marked Harding's first release of new music since his studio album '' Face Your Fear'' in October 2017, songs from which he had performed the previous day in a concert in Mexico. The release of "It's Not Over" came in advance of Harding's concert tour supporting

, which began in Poland on June 8. Harding performed "It's Not Over" at some of the venues supporting Kravitz.

Critical reception

In '' Clash'', Robin Murray wrote, "It's a driven return, a solid return, one infused by a future-facing sense of what 'soul' can mean in 21st-century songwriting."

Oregon Public Broadcasting Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) is the primary public broadcasting, public media organization for the U.S. state of Oregon as well as southern Washington (state), Washington. It provides news, information, and programming via television stati ...

's Kelsey Greco wrote that the song "has an undeniable groove that will pull you to the dance floor, all the while blending in progressive production choices that keep close listeners intrigued." The alternative culture website Afropunk called the song "an impossibly groovy romantic jam filled with soul, love, and desperation, because love is pretty much all about making an ass of yourself." The website said the song stemmed from classic soul music while "Harding's soaring vocals are still somehow refreshing and original." A Spanish-language site said, "Curtis Harding showed us what it means to compose and create soul in our time."

Release history

References

{{authority control 2018 singles 2018 songs Curtis Harding songs Epitaph Records singles