Track Review:
Gemma Bradley -
‘Better’ FT. David Lyttle & Jamal Franklin
![]()
PHOTO BY AARON CUNNINGHAM
Belfast’s superstar Gemma Bradley has teamed up with seasoned jazz musician David Lyttle to unveil an ultra-smooth groove, that’s a perfect blend of a 90’s hip-hop beat that brings in strong flavours of 70’s jazz and soul.
The roots of ‘Better’ were ignited from the Jazz Alliance Awards in 2020, bringing Gemma and MOBO nominee David Lyttle together. Regardless of the restrictions at the time, ‘Better’ is the sound of a relationship of two talents cooking up a seriously hypnotic tune.
Prepare yourself for a classy affair - basking in warm tones and rich sounds, the instrumentation builds a beautiful atmosphere of dulcet vibrations. Balancing the beats, Gemma makes sure to bring the lyricism, she explains, “This song is essentially about searching for something better. We’ll always meet people in our lives who think that they know what’s best but only you can know for yourself what that is. And sometimes, you don’t know until you find it and that’s what this song is, it’s that part in between knowing and finding what’s better for us”.
While the song lyrics are searching for someone better, Gemma’s delivery brings out the positivity of the search and possibly to a place that reflects the emotions of deep lockdowns. The nature of recording during the pandemic meant that collaboration was virtual, allowing the quality of the songs line-up . Along with Bradley and Lyttle, Dublin based rapper Jamel Franklin hops on and delivers a verse made of sonic butter.
By flowing together waves and rhythms of irresistible soul-jazz, ‘Better’ brings out the best of Gemma’s taste for the groovy. It’s is one of the tracks of the year, and hopefully, this direction is something that Gemma continues to explore and develop, fans of Cleo Sol, Arlo Parks and Greentea Peng will hope so too.
FOLLOW GEMMA HERE
︎INSTAGRAM
︎TWITTER