โWhat Is Love (feat. Kaley Halperin)โ by Gideon Unna is a haunting anti-war ballad that utilizes delicacy and vulnerability as the armor of defiance. Released amid the turmoil of 2025, the track arrives as a lament and a prayer, a tender call for empathy in a time of division. The song is the second collaboration between Unna and Israeli vocalist Kaley Halperin, and together they create something intimate and universal. With Yotam Botner on drums, Yoav Asif on keyboards, and Unna himself handling acoustic guitar and bass, the track was shaped into its final form by mastering engineer Yoram Vazan of Firehouse Studio, New York, a name that carries its own prestige.
The song opens with warm, strumming guitars that instantly draw you in before Halperinโs high, delicate voice floats in like a sigh over a war-torn horizon. She sings vulnerably and tenderly as she asks the timeless question: โWhat is love?โ The arrangement builds gradually with soft percussion, swelling strings, and a melodic undercurrent that feels as if itโs holding its breath. By the time the refrain repeats, the instrumentation thickens, shimmering urgently.
But beneath the gentle tones lies sharp political commentary. Through simple, poetic lines, the lyrics challenge the hypocrisy of nations that preach peace while perpetuating violence, a veiled yet unmistakable reference to U.S.โIsrael relations, as the cover art suggests, and the suffering in Gaza. The songโs imagery contrasts innocence (โwe came to this world to make it as babiesโ) with the corruption of power and the loss of humanity.
โWhat Is Loveโ is a protest disguised as a lullaby. With Halperinโs ethereal voice and Unnaโs grounded folk sensibilities, it captures the ache of watching a world forget the very thing it was meant to protect: love itself.
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Review by: Naomi Joan