Aly Berry’s latest single, “The Wrong Man,” is a masterclass in jazz storytelling with smoky vocals, sly humor, and theatrical flair into an empowering breakup anthem. With her thick, husky voice wrapped in regret and self-awareness, Berry takes us on a slow burn from sorrow to sass, framed perfectly by Paul Higgs’s rich, retro-inspired composition and a backing band of jazz heavyweights.
The track opens in a mood of melancholic introspection. The piano shimmers gently, the vocal delivery heavy with quiet disappointment. Then, like the curtain rising on a jazz club confession, the percussion rustles in with playful precision, followed by warm, rhythmic horns that lend buoyancy to Berry’s voice as she shifts from mournful to mocking. What starts as a lament quickly sharpens into a clever, cathartic self-reckoning, as she didn’t just fall for the wrong guy—she nearly married him.
With lyrical wit and rhythmic bite, “The Wrong Man” turns her own humiliation into an almost cinematic declaration of independence. Lines like “You ain’t nothing but a clown” and “So if I brought you home / My mama would say no” land like jazz zingers and come off super sassy. The chorus, “I said I loved you to the wrong man,” repeats like a mantra, which sounds like a woe at first, but soon sounds like a reassurance that he is indeed the wrong man, and that fact itself makes us feel a little more hopeful for the future.
The production is lush and polished, yet alive with spontaneity. Scott Hamilton’s tenor saxophone is warm and mellow. Dave Green’s bass walks smoothly beneath the mix, while Andy Watson’s guitar glistens in all the right places. The chemistry between performer and band, between heartbreak and humor, between tradition and self-renewal. Check out Berry’s “The Wrong Man” on Spotify.
STAY IN TOUCH:
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | SPOTIFY | TIKTOK | WEBSITE | YOUTUBE
Review by: Naomi Joan