Rabbit Hole shows up with the kind of inclusive approach to aesthetics that recalls Prince. In the first 30 seconds we get an a cappella intro, radio static, grungy bass and soulful R&B vocals, yet they all come together in a way that feels coherent. What struck me with Rabbit Hole is the way Billy Vena has cherry-picked sounds from the past three decades and combined them in a way that feels distinctive and fresh… I find myself longing for more of the roughly hewn soul of En Vogue, Lucy Pearl and Miguel — all artists who carved their sound out of a composite blend of genres and artists, forming something infectious and near-universally appealing.
This stylistic approach is clearly no accident. Billy Vena acknowledges an aspiration to share his love of pop culture by channeling the lessons of the greatest pop stars of all time. By doing this, he hopes to create music fused into something both new and classic. Having made his debut in 2020 with Space Hippie, quickly followed with Disco Maniac and Talking 2 Myself, the Panama-native but Texas-resident musician has already found exposure through Spotify Fresh Finds and a Hype Machine #1.
Rabbit Hole is Vena’s first release of 2021, and with it he hopes to challenge notions of toxic masculinity, opening up a dialogue around sexual expression and exploration. In his words, Billy explains:
“Rabbit Hole is about a sexual awakening and how confusing it can be when you realize it’s happening. I wasn’t necessarily writing about my teenage rejections but my teenage regrets and how the back and forths in my head kept me in a “what if” scenario till this day. We may never know what the other person truly feels but maybe love is what you make it.”
Check out Rabbit Hole below: