Marshmello and the Jonas Brothers team up in a new single “Leave Before You Love Me.” What sounds like an unlikely collaboration is shockingly natural even from the opening notes of the song. While Marshmello’s early works gravitated towards bass-heavy EDM, his releases throughout 2020 and 2021 have been a mix of versatile pop anthems. “Leave Before You Love Me” fits into the groovier side of his repertoire, reminiscent of his recent releases “You” or “Too Much,” where his production fits seamlessly into the vocalist’s existing style. The best genre-crossing collaborations feel natural, and this is evidence of just that.
The song opens with an ’80s-style groovy guitar line that sets the nostalgic feel of the entire track. The first verse depicts the internal struggle and turmoil that goes along with a vulnerable love, “I see you calling, didn’t want to leave you like that / it’s 5 in the morning, a hundred on the dash.” In a world where we like to think that love conquers all, “Leave Before You Love Me” explores the need to run away from love before it gets too serious. The Jonas Brothers make the lyrics sound sweet, soft, and vulnerable, as heartbreaking as they may read on paper.
When the chorus of the track hits, the instrumentation is perhaps the most interesting part. It sounds distinctly different than anything we’ve heard from Marshmello before. While his sound can be versatile and catered to any artist’s genre, the chorus of this collaboration actually features several live instruments — something we rarely hear from Marshmello. There’s guitar riffs and drums on top of a low-key dance beat. And while it’s catchy and refreshing, it almost loses the Marshmello atmosphere entirely by incorporating more instruments. Rather than being a dance track at all, this one feels more like an alt-pop creation. Some crossover and experimentation is always welcome and in this case is surely a success. But, it feels like it’s lost some of the Marshmello flare many have come to know and love.
With that being said, the track does feel perfectly crafted for the Jonas Brothers — a group who have reinvented themselves over the last two years as a trio of groovy-pop masters. It’s hard to not appreciate such a perfectly crafted sing-along track. Listen just once and you’ll likely find yourself hitting the replay button. “Leave Before You Love Me” comes just in time for summer, when I can assure you that you’ll have this one playing all day long.