LESS "Instead of Making Love (Say Hello)": A New Direction For Emotional Reinvention
With her latest single, "Instead of Making Love (Say Hello)", the Florence-based artist LESS is continuing her evolution as one of the most interesting new voices in Italy. In terms of artistic development, this song represents a watershed, revealing a songwriter whose nostalgia, drawn from the early 2000s, has matured to the point of supreme artistic authority, where irony, vulnerability, and emotional honesty can thrive.
The entire piece was recorded on analog machines at Kapow Vintage Studio in Florence, and the warm sound reflects that experience. The production, pitched by Lorenzo Santi, Federico Maremmi, and Marco Lega, manages to convey an approachable polish wherein the precision of the parts and arrangement does not cede emotional expression within the performance to sterile engineering craft. The sonic palette, with innumerable guitar and synth textures and rhythmic percussion, recalls early millennium alt-pop and soft rock forebears like Dido, Alanis Morissette, and Garbage, while remaining acutely modern in lyrical perspective.
The song is a meditation on privacy, belonging, and the paradox of emotional distance in a world of physical proximity. "Instead of making love, say hello" expresses it succinctly; it is a bittersweet acknowledgment that sometimes, the most honest thing to do emotionally is to prioritize communication over passion. The effect of LESS's performance hints of restraint yet feels explosive; LESS carries the vulnerability of heartbreak with the mastery of an artist in complete control of their craft.
LESS was born in Naples and spent her youth living between cities in Italy that gave her a life of movement, exploration, and resilience. The impact of this hyper-mobile childhood and the search to understand herself can be observed over and over again through her music. From older tracks like "Hole" and "Why Do You Lie?" to the forthcoming LOVELESS, she has recast the human experience through themes around and including love, self-acceptance, and change.
There's no question that she has grown in her abilities as a songwriter. "Instead of Making Love (Say Hello)" reads as a mark of maturation, signifying an artist with confidence, as she carves out her sound and identity. It seems little surprise that this track has already been included in a Compigram compilation, in addition to being one of the pre-selections for major festivals across Europe. All of this is contributing to LESS's growing reputation across and beyond Italy's borders. LESS's compelling blend of sincere storytelling, blissful production, and sheer charisma suggests that she is not only a promising talent, but a phenomenon that is reshaping what it means to make music that is personal, poetic and completely human.
