This is a blissfully calm piece of music, the backdrop alone is built up with minimal, dreamlike sounds and effects. There’s an ongoing vocal melody that is soaked in reverb and runs throughout the backdrop providing a really enjoyable and calming recording. Furthermore, on top of all of this you get the song, the substance of the lyrics, and the sound of the leading voice. The vocal performance is explicitly chilled out and adds greatly to the soothing ambiance of the whole single.
The telephone element in the intro adds to this whole scene setting vibe, you can feel the emotion of the moment and you can sense the mood, particularly through the questioning and deeply reflective nature of the lyrics. The content is so easy to relate to and to empathise with. The words feel like a diary entry at times, unapologetically real and honest, something that is always likely to connect with an audience over anything that is faked or forced.
Production wise the track has a slightly lo-fi sound to it, not too heavy, not particularly crisp, but I think considering the subject matter and the energy of the piece this production approach is quite effective. This muggy, middle of the night sound works well with and is hugely relevant to the scene set by the lyrics, the story telling, and that underlying vibe. There’s a sense of truth and real love or dedication to the lyrics of the song and this is put forth via these self questioning thoughts that are likely to be all too familiar to anyone who’s been through a similar situation. The personal touch is irreplaceable, and the musical choice in this case supports the sentiment perfectly. It would interesting to see which other directions the artist goes in when dealing with varying subject matter.
By Rebecca Cullen
Rebecca is a Musician and writer from Manchester, UK, with an MA in Song Writing
