Yui Stonewell – “Not Here To Save The World”
Yui Stonewell – “Not Here To Save The World” – Single Review
Yui Stonewell, as reviewed by Jer @ SBS – aka Jeremy Gladstone?
Coincidence?
Of course it is! I’ve made comments on thousands of bands and artists, c’mon now. But our comparable names still seemed like a cool way to start this review, and everything we do has gotta start somewhere, right?
You’re on solid ground with your dreamy sound there Yui, no worries. I’ve been learning about this Tokyo-based EDM/Pop artist and checking out what I can find online. From what I can tell, it looks like she started releasing tunes about as far back as 2014, but ended up taking a significant break shortly afterwards. You’d have to assume that was time well spent – Yui would eventually resurface in 2020, and it’s clear she’s been focused on turning her passion for music into a lifelong career ever since. We’re talking full domination of the past couple years; she put out her debut EP called Orbit, and all kinds of singles released surrounding it on both sides as she established her name within the scene – and from the sounds of things on her latest cut, “Not Here To Save The World,” she’s quite obviously thriving at this point in her career. Yui’s got stellar & sincere vocals, a brilliantly laid-back vibe goin’ on in the music supporting her, and an endearing mix of emotional content & stylistically slick melody for ya…overall she’s got an excellent low-key single with “Not Here To Save The World” that’ll have no problem at all finding an audience & a whole bunch of you out there around the world to love it for sure.
Personally, I think that as mellow of a song as “Not Here To Save The World” genuinely is, Yui’s bold, expressive sound breaks through in all the right ways – she’s got a truly memorable single on her hands here, and that’s not always the easiest achievement to accomplish with the ol’ slow-jam. The reality is, she’s got such a wonderful voice & humble authenticity that you instantly wanna support her & cheer on her success…there’s so much more of a grounded vibe in what Stonewell is creating than you tend to find in the majority of anything Pop/EDM. She’s much more on the Pop side of sound for this particular single – were it not for the description in her bio, you probably wouldn’t notice the EDM part this time around. In any event – none of that really matters and all labels suck anyway – the important thing is that she sounds as equally fantastic as she does professional, and Yui sings with an open-hearted style that’s guaranteed to have no difficulty winning over the hearts & minds out there listening. While there is a decidedly heavier shroud of melancholy that hovers in the atmosphere of this song, doing its level best to thwart the uplifting spirit of Yui Stonewell through the reflective & observational approach to the verses – but that unbreakable spirit she possesses breaks through the clouds within the chorus. I’d assume that “Not Here To Save The World” would be fundamentally about looking at life from a micro perspective, not so much the macro one – you feel me? We’re talking about taking life & love one day, one step, one moment at a time…and that the larger distance we tend to spread out what we can offer the world, sometimes the less of an impact we can have. “Not Here To Save The World” is more about making the difference one person, one moment at a time…and maybe that even starts with herself and the self-lovin’ of Yui – that’s fine too. Everything we do has to start somewhere, just like this review did. The point that people so often miss is that by going this route…this micro route, if you will…you’ll find the differences you can make on an individual basis & the way you can inspire ONE person sometimes, is so very, very crucial to things becoming better for the greater good of us ALL. So take that, it IS macro!
Basically what I’m saying is, those who understand we’re “Not Here To Save The World” as one big piece all at once, have the chance & opportunity to make a real difference through the relationships we make. Perhaps that’s achieved just by being the best version of YOU that you can be…maybe that’s you guiding someone else to better days ahead or helping them navigate the rocky waters of life & love…maybe it’s loving the person you’re in a relationship with; you don’t have to save the world all at once – in fact, what I’m tellin’ ya is that the less you focus on the whole big thing at a macro level and focus in on that micro aspect, the more you’ll notice that what you’re doing actually IS saving the world, one person at a time. You CAN save the world, just by being the beautiful people you are – “smile when you see darkness” like Yui has learned to…because she’s also learned that the light is still coming again in the morning. She’s got a wonderful perspective on life & love if I’m reading all these tea leaves correctly – I’ll fully admit, I’m probably overanalyzing her gorgeous Pop song here to the nth degree, but by that same token, you’ve gotta congratulate Stonewell for creating a single that’s truly thought-provoking, evocative, and stunningly grounded, relatable & real. “Don’t make it difficult – love and hope are a state of mind” as she’ll tell ya – embrace the moment like she has on “Not Here To Save The World” and be here now in the present – that’s where we all make the most difference & positive change; individually, and person-to-person, but undeniably unified together all the same. Sometimes you just wanna tune out what’s happening out there in the world anyway…shut out the news, turn off the TV and the phones for a moment…and just enjoy the moment for everything it’s worth with the one we’re with, whether it’s for a single night, or for a lifetime. The REAL bottom line is, Yui Stonewell is straight up magic on the microphone – she’s got just as great of a voice as she does a melody to work with on “Not Here To Save The World,” and I felt like the performance she put in not only has a ton of heart, but it brought out the maximum potential in the songwriting and strengthened the minimalist approach to the music. She might have gone low-key, mellow, and subtle for this single – but make no mistake, she’s as completely charming as she is genuinely captivating on her brand-new single…Yui should be fully proud of this song.
Find out more about the music of Yui Stonewell at her official pages below!
Multi-link: https://linktr.ee/yuistonewellmusic
Twitter: https://twitter.com/yuistonewell
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yuistonewellmusic
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yuistonewellmusic
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5hDLXsp28CVaWxFMEac2JR
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