Love is in the air, and so is the unmistakable magic of Riva Taylor’s latest single, “Valentine Road.” With a career that kicked off at just 12 years old, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Usher and Sir Elton John, Taylor isn’t just making music—she’s making history. Now, she’s back with a track that feels like it was plucked straight from a vintage romance film, wrapped in warmth, and delivered just in time for Valentine’s Day.
From the first notes, “Valentine Road” sweeps you off your feet. The collaboration with British funk/gospel artist Marcus Foster and masterful mixer Richard Wilkinson (who’s worked with Adele and Amy Winehouse) ensures the track is nothing short of luxurious. Lush instrumentation, rich with jazz influences and cinematic strings, sets the stage for Taylor’s velvety vocals to take flight. The result? A song that’s as timeless as an old Hollywood love story but fresh enough to feel right at home on today’s playlists.
Taylor’s voice is the star of the show, effortlessly gliding between power and vulnerability. There’s a depth to her delivery that makes every note feel personal, as if she’s letting us in on a beautifully intimate secret. Her lyricism, too, is striking—poetic yet universal, capturing love’s winding path with grace and emotion. If “Valentine Road” was a place, it would be a candle-lit street, lined with echoes of classic love songs and whispered confessions.
What makes this track stand out is its ability to transport you. Close your eyes, and you’re in a smoky jazz club in the ‘60s; open them, and you’re in the present, basking in a song that refuses to be confined to a single era. This fusion of old and new is what Taylor does best, and “Valentine Road” is a perfect showcase of her artistry.
Whether you’re celebrating love, longing for it, or simply in the mood for a stunning piece of music, “Valentine Road” delivers. It’s elegant, evocative, and brimming with soul—exactly the kind of song you didn’t know you needed. With this release, Riva Taylor reminds us that some voices don’t just sing; they tell stories, and hers is one we’ll be listening to for a long time.
On the release Taylor shares, “This is a song that has lived as a file on my laptop since 2021 and ironically, given its ethereal backing vocals and ghostly imagery, is a melody that has haunted me ever since writing it. I repeatedly revisited the demo waiting for the right moment to release it. As soon as I turned up at Marcus’s studio on Valentine Road, I knew what the title of our song would be. It’s written for all those people out there who have been in love with the idea of a relationship that didn’t actually exist. In all honesty, the song presents ‘Valentine Road’ as a long and varied one which always offers hope…”
