James Barre’s ‘Don’t Say’ is a crisp and stylishly minimal pop song for the most part, the opening few bars of music feature purely a rhythmic and organic, acoustic guitar sound, a click for a beat, and some simple lines of expression – an easy going melody and an effective way to get across the sentiment of the song fairly quickly.
The sound comes through as fairly familiar to the likes of ‘Love Yourself’ from Justin Bieber, musically speaking. However – the artist’s voice and lyricism in this case reflects something of a more r&b inspired nature. In fact, as the track progresses, there are moments of a summer dance vibe thrown into the mix. All in all, however the instrumentation may be arranged, the artist’s voice reacts accordingly – gentle for those spacious verses, powerful and passionate for the hook and the build up towards the end.
The subject matter of the song presents a concern about the potential end of a relationship, it suggests an uncertainty, and a certain dedication of affection. The music and the melody, on the other hand, portray a notably upbeat and optimistic energy. The song comes through as a joyful and energetic summer anthem, and the hook adds to this in a way that is likely to get audiences singing the melody of this part quite soon after hearing it. The contrast between the topic and the musicality works well, showing that sometimes it’s better to keep music as uplifting and hopeful, touching on the laid back nature of early relationship days.
By Rebecca Cullen
Rebecca is a Musician and writer from Manchester, UK, with an MA in Song Writing
