What more is there to say about love? It has been painstakingly dissected and enshrined for centuries in the written word, films, and songs that both shatter and mend hearts. Olivia Dean says it herself on “I’ve Seen It,” the closing track from her second studio album, The Art of Loving. The British singer-songwriter witnessed love shape-shift across those mediums, but also watched as it took the form of her parents’ standard-setting romance, young couples finding each other and growing apart, and older ones losing memories to time. “It makes me cry to think that I am able to give it back the way it gives to me,” Dean sings, while birds chirp in the distance. “The more you look, the more you find. It’s all around you, all the time.”
And yet, despite its pervasiveness, no one has quite nailed down the science behind falling in and out of love, whether romantically, platonically, or internally. At 26, Dean doesn’t purport to have mastered the art of loving. In fact, she’d be the first to admit that most of her findings have been inconclusive, or flat-out wrong. But she is having a damn good time trying.
On “Nice to Each Other,” lush harmonies cushion the blow of her call to keep things casual. “I’ve done all the classic stuff and it never works, you know it,” Dean sings, noting later, “I don’t want a boyfriend.” Its steady percussive kick is occasionally interrupted by eccentric warbles and vocal stabs that are as fleeting as the romantic arrangement she’s suggesting on the record. She leans further into this flirty persuasion on “So Easy to Fall in Love,” singing, “I’m the perfect mix of Saturday night and the rest of your life.” The saccharine jazz pop standout calls to mind the glamour of Diana Ross. Elsewhere, her impenetrable confidence makes an undeniable hit out of “Man I Need,” where she quips, “I kinda like it when you call me wonderful.”
Dean’s star power is radiant and fueled by more than just charisma. She grooves in perfect time with an expertly assembled band, navigating through blaring trumpets, trombones, and saxophones with a delicate attention to detail and synchronicity. Their arrangements linger for a while on the bluesy “Close Up” as she ruminates on mixed signals, while “Baby Steps” studies every page of the Motown playbook and “A Couple Minutes” aches to be a duet. These records start to make sense of why Dean wants to keep her distance, romanticize the weekends, and rebuild her walls when the party is over. She won’t put her heart on the line again until she’s sure it’s in safe hands.
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The Art of Loving finds its strength in these pockets of restraint where Dean’s more melancholic moments put down roots, like in the swelling strings of the intimate and haunting “Loud.” She digs deepest on “Let Alone the One You Love,” a career high point that could stand alongside classics from Amy Winehouse and Adele, even Beyoncé back when she still made R&B ballads. Dean reached for those heights with her 2023 debut, Messy, which included the breakout hits “Dive” and “The Hardest Part,” though she got closest with the one-off “What Am I Gonna Do on Sundays?” Regardless, The Art of Loving pushes Dean into an elevated tier.
It matches the height of the standards she holds herself to. “Is it thinking too high of myself to not wannat to be sad?” she asks on “Something in InBetween,” breaking away from stagnant constraints. “Love needs breathing/I’m not his, I’m not hers, I’m not your all or nothing s.” Her introspection continues on “Lady Lady,” where the sentiment of unexpected change is mirrored by sharp melodic shifts. The jazzy outro of the song plays like the final scene of a film where heartbreak doesn’t triumph, but neither does happily ever after. Dean is still figuring out love. “Something lost and something gained in the art of loving,” she sings on the title track. Maybe it has all been said before. But not by her. That makes all the difference.
