ROB TIREA’S "GIVE ME LOVE GIVE ME LIGHT” IS A GUT-PUNCH WRAPPED IN A SMILE

TRACK REVIEW: ROB TIREA

Rob Tirea, the LA-based artist-producer launches into 2025 with“Give Me Love Give Me Light”, the haunting first single from his upcoming EP Universal Jest. Blending alt-dance undercurrents with the grit of indie-pop and a streak of raw rock, Tirea crafts a sound that’s impossible to pin down - and that’s exactly the point.

"This track is a sonic exploration of life’s contradictions," he explains. "It’s an unapologetic plea for connection." It feels like that, too - at once vast and intimate, soaked in emotional tension but lit with something hopeful. The kind of track that sinks into your chest and stays there. Universal Jest, due in late July, promises more of this duality. “It’s a straight-up punch to the gut, wrapped in a smile,” Tirea says. And if this first single is any indication, it’s a journey worth strapping in for.

In tandem with the single, Tirea drops a gorgeously stripped-back live performance video. Joined by violinist Nicole Garcia and cellist Michelle Rearick, the trio translates the track’s yearning into something cinematic. Filmed in downtown LA by visual artist Jackie Catechis (Coachella, CRSSD, Skyline), the video is as much a visual poem as it is a performance.

Tirea’s no stranger to sonic experimentation. His 2024 output saw him glide between lush synthscapes (“Thoughts of You”) and dancefloor melancholy (“Only Luck” - a SiriusXM Chill favourite). With 16M+ streams under his belt and collabs with GRAMMY-nominated names like Andrew Bayer and Lipless, Tirea's discography doesn’t just speak - it screams out.

If Give Me Love Give Me Light is the EP’s opening act, we’re ready for the whole performance. Turn the volume up, let the light in - and get ready to feel something!