Wednesday, May 16, 2018

Patiently Awaiting the Meteorite – Electrified



Patiently Awaiting the Meteorite – Electrified


This is a single with a near anthemic quality, but Patiently Awaiting the Meteorite never chooses to go all the way in that direction. “Electrified” is the first single release from their soon to be released debut studio album Canyon Diablo and, if we should consider it representative of the future release in anyway, Patiently Awaiting the Meteorite are poised to jolt an increasingly moribund scene with a song mixing traditional merits of rock/popular song craft with polished and thoroughly modern production. The sonic architecture is helmed by renowned production team the Grand Brothers and the project, as a whole, represents their second collaboration with the song’s vocalist Dee. Dee has release two solo albums, the second produced by the aforementioned brothers, and enjoys a vast YouTube following as well as landing his song “Miles and Miles (Living on the Edge)” with a Super Bowl Ford automotive commercial. The sort of exposure that brings is inestimable.

There’s some female backing vocals scatting along with the arrangement and a smidgen of post production effects applied to the lead vocal, but Dee’s voice and performing presence is definitely enough to sustain the song alone. He handles the verses and refrains alike with equal confidence, but yet seems to have an unerring sense of what the music and lyrics alike require from his talents. The message behind the song is, essentially, a simple one, but that doesn’t stop Dee from delivering it with every ounce of the oomph “Electrified” deserves. Despite the song title, however, Dee notably never goes overboard with his delivery and his voice crackles with just enough emotion to make this a compelling ride for listeners. He latches onto the wide swing achieved by the song’s rhythm section and really makes it come particularly alive during the song’s refrain urging listeners to keep moving on.

There’s plenty of electronic pyrotechnics flashing across the surface of the song’s rhythm section, but the basis of everything for this track is the meaty bottom end attack that gives both Dee and the backing vocalists such a rich foundation to work on top of. As mentioned earlier, the song achieves a real swing and swagger without ever over-exaggerating its qualities and the Grand Brothers’ production keeps everything vivid, but balanced. It’s a tightrope act they pull off with exceptional skill. They have strong instincts, as well, for how the song should be structured and the composition never runs on too long with needless instrumental touches or too much lyrical content. Everything is cut to a focused edge that never relents for the entirety of the song. Patiently Awaiting the Meteorite’s “Electrified” is one of the most impressive singles from 2018, any genre, and definitely makes a case for Canyon Diablo potentially ending up on a lot of year’s best lists when December rolls around. It’s that good and promises more even better to come.


David Beals