Just in case you folks were wondering just how behind I am on knocking out all these requests, here's a great example for you. This single was brand spankin' new when the artist asked that I review it for them. That was January 22nd. Now here we are, well into March, and the band has since released another single on streaming services on February 12th. So yeah, I suck. But I'm just one person, and I promise I'm working on it! Kinda.
Tonight I'm taking a look at the new single "Set Me Free" by musical duo Ooberfuse. It's a techno pop track of sorts, that actually creates an interesting depth of feeling within me as I listen. For a snappy pop song, it's surprisingly somber. Or, perhaps it's surprisingly snappy for a somber pop song. Don't worry, I'll explain. Though like all of my reviews, I encourage you to listen to the music yourself so my words make a little bit more sense as you read them.
Like any techno pop song, the track opens with some light percussion, and eventually the layers of synth and digital beats come in one at a time until the sound is thick enough to cut with a knife. This sonic build up is perhaps my favorite element of the song, as it does exactly what any good song intro should: it gets you head-bopping or toe-tapping before you even know what the song is really all about.
The other element I really appreciate about this track, are the lyrics. They're much stronger than the repetitive swill that floods the radio today. I did use the world "flood" purposefully, as my favorite line from the song is "take a step closer til you really hear / living waters drowning my fear" That's some deep shit, guys. This is where the 'depth of feeling' I mentioned earlier comes into play. The synth beat inspires dancing, shots, having a good time. While everything about the vocals inspires the opposite. They're dark, they're emotional. They're wildly different than the music they're paired with. But it is actually in this sonic mis-match where the song finds it's footing and lands successfully. It's actually quite interesting and engaging when a song's music and lyrics are coming from two different emotions. I know I've mentioned him several times before, but Springsteen is actually the king of doing this. He'll have his audience dancing and head bopping along while he's singing about poverty, death, and disaster. (See "Roulette")
The one thing with this song that bugs me, and really it's me being nit-picky, is the vocal delivery. My biggest pet peeve in songs is when lyrics are whispered. The Romantics do it near the end of "What I Like About You," countless other bands have done it, and I hate it every single time it's done. In my opinion, there is no good time for whispering in music. So my issue with this track is that the vocal style sounds very breathy to me; almost as if the lyrics were whispered- on key- and the vox volume was then turned up to hide the fact that she's whispering. Maybe I'm way off base and this is her singing voice, in which case maybe I should apologize a little, as I'm not trying to shit on your entire existence as a singer. Hell, I can't sing for shit, so who am I to talk? But if this is just a style choice, I don't think it's working for me. She can find the right notes, but if she gave it some more throat power I think she would really have something here.
"Set Me Free" - Ooberfuse
1 - 22 - 2021
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