Brooke Combe evokes the dormant spirit of Motown on ‘Tears Won’t Lie’
Motown Records, today, is a shadow of its former self, so much so that many people won’t even realise that the label Berry Gordy founded back in 1959 is still in operation to this very day. Even if the label itself has faded into the ether, though, the iconic sounds it churned out back in the 1960s have lost none of their appeal, as represented in ‘Tears Won’t Lie’, the latest soul offering from Brooke Combe.
Her first release since the northern soul-styled ‘How Can I Tell You? (To Love Me More)’ late last year, ‘Tears Won’t Lie’ is certainly cut from the same cloth. While its lyrics of heartbreak and empowerment aren’t quite as upbeat as its predecessor, the rhythm of the single is just as rousing; a powerful, floor-filling pop-soul anthem that certainly answers the question of why the Edinburgh-born vocalist is among the most exciting and prolific performers in the entirety of the modern soul scene.
It is difficult to overcome the song’s sonic debt to the days of mid-1960s Motown, not least because Combe has the label’s iconic logo tattooed on her arm.
With its universal lyricism, powerful soul vocals, and beating four-on-the-floor rhythm, you would be forgiven for thinking that the song came straight from the mind of prime Holland-Dozier-Holland.
In fact, one of the only things that anchors the single in modernity is its production value, courtesy of The Coral’s James Skelly. Its grandiose, booming nature gives it an impression of being tailor-made for ballrooms and dancehalls, befitting of the song’s accompanying music video.
That is not to say, however, that Combe is an artist relying solely on nostalgia points; ‘Tears Don’t Lie’, along with the rest of her discography thus far, stands tall on its own merits, highlighting her not only as an incredibly skilled vocalist and songwriter but also as an all-around performer.
She has never made any attempt to hide her love of Motown and old-school soul (why would she?), but equally, she isn’t merely a Martha Reeves tribute act.
One particularly powerful aspect of this new single, for instance, is its sense of timelessness. Perhaps more so than any artist on the scene currently, Combe seems able to cut through the generational divide, appealing both to young listeners – for many of whom tracks like these might be their first introduction to soul – and the old, incredibly hard-to-please landscape of devoted soulies, too.
‘Tears Won’t Lie’ marks a crucial point in Brooke Combe’s discography, having truly hit her stride and, with every new release, reaffirming her position among the masters of modern-day soul music. Long may her reign continue.
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