Someone once said that falling in love is the only war in which defeat feels like victory. It sounds lovely, but in essence it describes a state where just yesterday you were convincing yourself that “everything’s under control,” and today you catch yourself thinking about that person at the most inconvenient moment – in an elevator, in line, in the middle of a phone call. Resistance holds up exactly until you admit the obvious. And it’s this obvious, slightly improbable fact that Janalynn Castelino’s new single “Can’t Deny” is about.
Janalynn is an unusually interesting figure for today’s pop scene. The 27-year-old artist from Los Angeles manages not only to produce music and write songs but also to work as a doctor. She grew up on Sicilian folk melodies and Baroque church music, while studying medicine on the side. After the dramatic crossover of “Drama” and the raw, aching ballad “But Without You,” she makes a sharp turn toward light, infectious euphoria – and that lightness is audible from the very premise of the song.
The plot is simple to the point of being almost embarrassing: the heroine realizes she’s in love, tries to hide it – and can’t. But it’s precisely in that simplicity that the track finds its success. Instead of drama, there’s a recognizable, slightly childlike astonishment at one’s own feelings, and falling in love is portrayed as a pleasant loss of control. Musically, “Can’t Deny” is contemporary R&B with soft soul and Latin American touches. The rhythm is smooth, gently swaying: a restrained bass and guitar parts – acoustic mixed with electronic – serve as the backdrop for the track’s real protagonist: the vocals. And this is where Janalynn truly comes into her own. Her timbre is velvety, pleasingly raspy in just the right places, and the layered harmonies and melismas give the song a sensuality that’s hard to fake with technical tricks.
“Can’t Deny” is a neat, warm snapshot of one particular moment – when resisting is already pointless and all that’s left is to admit: yes, you’re caught. For anyone looking for evening music without the drama but with genuine feeling, this is exactly what’s needed.
