NEEB have always had a knack for making sophistication feel easy. And on their latest offering ‘You Are Not Alone’, the Hartlepool quartet step away from the brighter sheen of ‘Feeling Tonight’ and settle into a gentler, more inward-facing piece that brings out the subtler side of their songwriting.
Instead of leading here with a disco-inspired energy, the track opens through softly shifting percussion before easing into a supple rhythm section. Mark Hand’s Rhodes and piano give the song its colour, Tony Waite’s bass moves with quiet confidence, and Mark Lloyd keeps the drums understated enough to let the arrangement breathe.
‘You Are Not Alone’ could easily have been pushed towards something overly earnest, but the band resist that temptation. Jasmine Weatherill’s vocal sits right at the heart of the track, warm and unforced, carrying the central message with just enough emotional weight to make it land.
There is a distinctly nocturnal quality to the song too. Its blend of jazz, soul and Latin-inspired rhythm feels designed for immersion, offering the kind of track that reveals more once the volume comes down and the details begin to surface.
It’s something that makes it a particularly useful companion to ‘Feeling Tonight’. Where that earlier single leaned into colour and movement, this one feels more reflective, suggesting that forthcoming album YANA will have a far wider emotional range than one mood or style.
Elegant, patient and quietly affecting, ‘You Are Not Alone’ shows NEEB expanding without forcing the issue. It’s another confident step towards YANA, and a reminder that sometimes the softest moments leave the longest impression.