The final single before Hotel Leo’s (real name Stephen Roper) highly anticipated upcoming album ‘Everybody You Know’ finally makes its grand entrance into the world, ‘Notes In The Door’(‘NITD’) is a huge twist upon the love songs that you’ve come to know.
Wearing its heart on its sleeve throughout its entire five-minute run time, ‘NITD’ explores the risk of confessing it all to a friend and the eventual aftermath of the aforementioned act. With emotionally charged lyrics including “‘Cause I feel wrong saying nothing at all / you know I can’t breathe with you around / I want to know your sign”, it helps to put across Hotel Leo’s message in a way that’s easily relatable to those who have found themselves in similar situations.
Despite the initially vulnerable tone of the song, ‘NITD’ does grow louder and more confident as time wears on. I think the hardcore electric guitars, which come charging in at various points, help to prove my point. They gave off similar vibes to English rockers The Vaccines, specifically their ‘Back In Love City’ era, which I adored and have no doubt that you will too.
Even though it dips in and out of different genres from indie-rock (the guitars and Hotel Leo’s irresistible vocals) to synth-pop, the smooth bass is always there, giving it that danceability, which I easily found myself returning to.
Balancing fun and tenderness, ‘Notes In The Door’ takes the excitement for the new album to staggering heights and helps to showcase how Hotel Leo is bound to become a household name in the years to come.
Written by Madi Briggs
