Olivia Dean proves love is still worth singing about in new album ‘The Art of Loving’

Musicians have been singing love songs since the beginning of time — Olivia Dean somehow provides a fresh take. In her second studio album, “The Art of Loving,” released on Sept. 26, 2025, Dean takes listeners through every season of love. From the excitement that comes with first meeting someone to breaking up and having to find yourself again, the album has a song for everyone.

“The Art of Loving” acknowledges there is no such thing as expertise when it comes to love. The album’s closing track, “I’ve Seen It,” makes Dean’s developing understanding clear through the introspective admittance — “I guess I’m not supposed to know it all.” Dean certainly offers a raw picture of how it feels to be loved, to give love and to see love in the world around you. 

Dean, a British singer-songwriter, has been making music since she was 16 but has only recently broken into the “mainstream.” In the past year, Dean opened for Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet Tour, collaborated with Sam Fender on the popular single “Rein Me In” and went viral for covering The Supremes’ classic hit “You Can’t Hurry Love” on TikTok in late 2024. 

I, as a long time listener, am attracted to Dean’s natural charisma. Dean’s effortless “cool girl” aesthetic is refreshing to see in a world that is so often obsessed with over-coordinated, airbrushed, perfected production. All Dean needs to captivate audiences is a stage, a microphone and her natural groove. Her charisma radiates through her music, combining all the fun of pop music with the sophistication and intense emotion of jazz, soul and R&B. 

Dean’s more recent explosion in the limelight was fueled by the staggered release of the “The Art of Loving’s” singles, “Nice to Each Other,” “Lady Lady” and “Man I Need” — all strong hits that beautifully capture the more upbeat side of love, both romantic and self. While these tracks are definitely the most commercialized on the album, frequently appearing in the background of TikTok and Instagram posts, it’s for a reason. The art of the perfect pop hit feels somewhat lost to our generation of autotuned, watered-down ballads, but these tracks give me hope for the future of the genre. These singles are both suitable for mainstream and successfully avoid cliches. 

“The Art of Loving’s” strength ultimately comes from Dean’s moments of reserve. Dean is clear about her hesitation to open her heart to new love. Her ability to admit she does not have all the answers to mending a broken heart is refreshing. Love, after all, is not a one-size-fits-all feeling. We all give and receive it differently, and many of us have had times where we felt completely disconnected from it. These vulnerable moments shine through in the album’s powerhouses “Loud” and “Let Alone the One You Love,” earning Dean comparison to the R&B ballad-era Beyoncé and Amy Winehouse in The Rolling Stone. These two tracks in particular strike the perfect balance between storytelling and vocal power. It’s this openness —the moments where Dean admits love can be uncertain and imperfect — that allows the album’s message to resonate more broadly. 

“The Art of Loving” serves as a much needed reminder that our lives are full of love in different forms. It’s present within the friends who show up for us no matter what, the family — born or chosen — who know us inside and out and perhaps most importantly, in the act of learning to love ourselves. The art of loving is, after all, not a destination but a practice — one we are all still learning together.