Jiana Wessel: Fire! “drum performance is insane.”
This song is intense, what a drum line – the build up alone implies something epic will follow, but that drum performance is insane. The contrast between the weight and energy of the instrumentation and the delicacy of the leading voice makes for something pretty unique. The longer you listen, the development has a very free nature to it, evolving into something fairly operatic, always theatrical and dramatic, yet always held as grounded and genuine due to that vocal tone and also due to the lyrics. The production as well may play a part in the overall lightness of the sound – despite the weight of certain elements, the whole thing comes through as fairly dreamlike and really easy to listen to.
The lyrics further this element of the theatrical, the imagery and the statements made, the changing vocal rhythms and indeed the change from the melodic to the spoken word or even chanted section. The voice is obviously the key characteristic of the sound, though the drum puts in a strong bit for that position as well. The voice quickly becomes familiar, and the song’s hook is the sort that leaves its mark effectively as all good songs should hope to.
The somewhat historical or age old element of this sound and this style of composition and performance seems well connected hear to a much more modern, perhaps even trip-hop influenced style of writing. There’s a freshness to it, particularly the lyrics and the way the melody comes through initially as something of a free-style, it naturally pours out in a certain, quite unusual way. The verse has a stream of consciousness feel to it and this adds to that element of character and atmosphere that is the essence of the song.
By Rebecca Cullen
Rebecca is a Musician and writer from Manchester, UK, with an MA in Song Writing
