Tag: Rhys

Rhys feat. Felix Sandman – Starfish

“I got a sense that this was about to get special a second or so before it actually did.”

Tim: We’ve only featured one of Rhys’s tracks before, and also only one of Felix’s. Hers we liked; his not so much.

Tom: Liked is an understatement: Last Dance turned out to be one of my favourite tracks of last year.

Tim: Let’s try a combination, then.

Tom: Well, that takes its time to get going, doesn’t it?

Tim: Weirdly, I got a sense that this was about to get special a second or so before it actually did, so I listened back and realised there’s some brilliant production work going on.

The first verse is of the variety that could go either way – massively overblown vocal samples, deep r&b, even tropical, wherever. That pre-chorus makes it a bit clearer, but then it’s the 1 minute point, where there’s a very brief rising string bit, which suddenly drops into an absolutely lovely chorus – and just that tiny bit makes it sound so so good.

Tom: And that chorus, in turn, explains the verse: oh, that’s why it sounds like that. I do reckon that this track would have been better by briefly previewing the chorus at the start — I nearly tuned out — but perhaps it’s just a grower. It’s no Last Dance, but it’s certainly got a spark of the same genius.

Tim: We’ve no lengthy traditional build to get up hopes and expectation that might not be met, nor a really sudden shift, but just a tiny, almost imperceptible interlude, saying ‘hey, you’ll enjoy this’. And I really did. I’d say it’s great anyway, but that one smidgen of a note switched it up to brilliant.

Rhys – Last Dance

“I’m damned if the instrumentation underneath it doesn’t it turn into something special.”

Tim: New artist off Sweden, not bothering with a surname as presumably that’s too much effort. Here’s the first track, co-written with half of ‘From Paris To Berlin’ hitmakers Infernal.

Tom: Given that Rhys is normally a male name, at least over here, I was surprised by that face and voice.

Tim: So weird thing about this: it sounds great…for most of it.

Tom: It really, really does. That pre-chorus actually made me say, out loud, “oh wow, that’s good”. I think that’s because the melody line there is riffing on something I already know, or perhaps many things I already know: that “if all we ever had” bit is definitely something I’ve heard before. (Any ideas?)

Tim: Oh, you bastard. I hadn’t heard it previously, but now you got me thinking – there’s a lot of Beneath Your Beautiful in that section. DAMN YOU.

Tom: Even if that’s not original, though, I’m damned if the instrumentation underneath it doesn’t it turn into something special.

Tim: Vocal is strong throughout the verses and pre-chorus, instrumentation’s good, particularly during the pre-chorus – but in the chorus it falls down slightly.

Tom: Really? We’ve got a good mixture between vocal hook and instrumental hook, and it sounds great to me. What’s wrong for you?

Tim: I don’t quite know what it is, but above that twisty twirly sound under the chorus, the vocal just doesn’t sound particularly strong, or as loud as it should do. It picks it up for the closing chorus fine, and it’s less noticeable in the second chorus, but at the first chorus it almost gets lost.

Maybe the building up is a designed thing, but it really doesn’t sound like the singing of someone who really is putting in all the effort for every god damn chance.

Tom: I have a feeling that the “god damn chance” bit will age badly. I don’t know how it’ll stand up to many repeat listens, but it’s stood two so far as I write this.

Tim: Other than that, though: great.

Tom: Tim, I almost never actively like new music that you send me.

Tim: Hmm – not entirely sure what that says about this site, but do continue.

Tom: It’s rare than I immediately hit replay, and even rarer that I immediately download the track.

I downloaded this track.