The song has weight, without being noisy – there’s a distinct level of style and confidence to it that comes through simply by means of a snappy bass line, a funk-driven beat, and a smooth and passionate leading vocal. The whole thing starts of strongly, drawing a touch of influence from the somewhat lighter side of the Chilli Peppers or Skunk Anansie – perhaps the leading vocal performance has a similar tone to the latter. As it progresses, the passion continues if not increases and follows the structure of the song along in authentic and interesting way.

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The story telling is on point, honest and appealing, slightly unusual even. It’s not the story telling that grabs you at first though, it’s the overall energy and vibe the music gives off. There’s so much space surrounding each bit of instrumentation and each vocal moment, creating a fairly organic arena of musicality that suggests a live show would be a pretty close experience and undoubtedly enjoyable. The only thing that could perhaps pass for a programmed sound is the beat, bringing about a touch of retro or vintage rhythm. The more you listen, the more you catch those lyrics, those details of the hot nights in Harlem.

There also appear some unique and unexpected instrumental changes such as the slightly retro keys that come into play during the latter half of the song, reinforcing that vintage touch, and working towards keeping things interesting.

The switch from the verse to the hook is a fairly minimal bit of variation, the vocal part comes through as more mellow in these moments, which is another unusual characteristic of the music. The instrumental breaks following these sections work well in giving the song that consistent positivity that listeners will find it easy to relax and vibe to.

By Rebecca Cullen

Rebecca is a Musician and writer from Manchester, UK, with an MA in Song Writing