The Original High - A fan’s perspective
By: Malcolm Davis ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi! If you’re reading this, chances are you probably know what this is about. The new Adam Lambert album (The Original High) came out a little while ago. As a huge fan of the guy, this was - of course - a big deal for me. When his first album (For Your Entertainment) hit the market, my fan flower had already blossomed. I’d admit it to no one, though. Not even myself. I was a fan in denial. I’d watch his Idol performances on a loop, discuss his vocal stylings daily with (wearying) friends. And play the pre-release tracks endlessly. I’d follow everything up by stating that I was only mildly interested in dude and simply burning through a teenage phase. Three years later I was a bonafide superfan conversing with likeminded individuals about nearly everything Adam on a daily basis. It was around this time that his second album (Trespassing) came out. And a magical time it was. Though I’d enjoyed a few tracks on For Your Entertainment, I admittedly found myself regularly feeling that Adam could do better. And so he did, with this new project (in my opinion). While I had my qualms about that album, it sported some of the most interesting and groovy pop tracks I’d heard in a long time. The album marked my transition from ‘fan of Adam Lambert the singer’ to ‘fan of Adam Lambert the musical artist’. I was curious to see where his career would take him from there. And so here we are - another 3 years later - with another album from the vocal virtuoso. A lot had to happen before it dropped. But I’m thrilled that it’s finally here. What follows are my thoughts on this new Adam project, a dive into and through each of the album’s tracks. I’m not a music expert by any means. Just a European university student with a profound love for the art of singing and musical expression in general. Adam is my favourite singer and certainly one of my favourite musical artists. I thought it’d be fun to document my feelings on this newest album of his as it’s been a joy following his career over the years. I should preface this write-up by saying that while I am undoubtedly a superfan of Adam’s, I don’t shy away from expressing when I’m not entirely onboard with (any part of) his music. If any part of what follows offends you, know that it was not my intention. I’ll be giving each track a personal grade (on a scale from 1 to 10) to give an overall impression of my thoughts on the music. As hard as that is. Partly for myself but also for anyone maybe wondering about my sum-feelings on each or any particular track. At the end of my track-by-track journey through the album, I’ll offer a few final thoughts on the album. At the time of writing this introductory piece, I am far from finished. The idea is to let all the songs and my thoughts on them sink in before I post about them. I’ll try to update this post regularly to include more of the album’s tracks (or at least do my best to!). I really hope this turns out to be a somewhat pleasant read and - for those who begin reading much later in the process - not too long! :) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. GHOST TOWN
Ah, Ghost Town-- the first track on The Original High. AKA: the first new Adam song in 3 FUCKING years. I dunno how I (we the fans) dealt and continue to deal with this reality. Made a bitch wanna scream sometimes. Shiiiiiit. But it came. Oh God it came. It really really did. Damn. HOW, though? I'll try to explain with actual words.
The first single off Adam's third offering is a fascinating mix of guitar strum-supported poetry and minimal deep house production, interlaced with an earworm-y hook for days.
When I first heard this song I was blown away by how sweet Adam sounded in the verses. He had me AWWWW-ing and OOOO-hing and shit. Every now and then I still swoon. The accompanying lyrics really spoke to me. They dabble in Hollywood symbolism, reference iconic entertainers and channel various metaphors. All to explore one of the darker corners of the human condition: that sense of overarching failure; dissatisfaction with some—or all— facets of life. Despite your many efforts. In love, the industry, etc. Adam leaves the song's meaning open to interpretation, which fits the song's eerie vibe perfectly.
While I love the verses to death, it is the chorus and the bridge that truly slay me on this track. The waltzing deep house bassline that kicks in after the verses is GENIUS. The timing is unorthodox yet feels perfect. It slows time down for a moment (like a BOSS), picking things up slightly before falling down a flight of stairs right onto a whistle hook-laden dance-floor. A pulsating backbeat burgeons to life and the electro-swing waltz begins anew with added touches for extra oomph. Adam’s dark and almost whispered confessions about his heart float in and out throughout, only adding to the deliciously dark vibe being set by the production.
The bridge sees Adam at his epic wailing best, driving the message home with a spark of drama in this, his best and moodiest single offering thus far.
Ghost Town is THE SHIT. It will likely go down as one of my favourite Adam (dance) songs when all is said and done. I’ve played it well over 400x in the two months since its release, quite a feat for me personally. The song transports me to the underground club scene of the For Your Entertainment music video; where the weirdest of weirdos wear the most outré of outré outfits. There we huddle and hold hands. We swing-swoon to the pretty verses. We trippy-dance to the beat. There we live. And we live. And live. And LIVVVVVVVVVVE. YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
Post-bridge is all me, though. ‘Matador Boogie’ forever (http://share.gifyoutube.com/vVbzZx.gif)
There’s more to be said but the full extent of the magic here is almost indescribable. What a fucking song.
LUVVV: - The poetic lyrics - Adam’s soft vocals in the verses - The added reverb on some words (To-NIGHT Elvis is dead) - The on-point production throughout and the genius deep house bassline in particular
Favourite lyric: ’I tried to believe in God and James Dean, but Hollywood sold out.’
Life-affirming moment(s): When Adam goes up the octave at the end of verse 2 before the bassline kicks in, followed by another elevated shout about his heart. And then finally: the most epic of epic beat drops.
Not a fan of: - The fact that the song ends
Personal grade: 9.5 out of 10 (YO! POP MAGIC!!!) ------------------------------
2. THE ORIGINAL HIGH
Oh, shit. This song actually happened. Originally carved out by Adam and producer Axident, the title track curls its way up your ear after the stunning shit that is Ghost Town. I’m always in need of a mini-break after the latter ends, admittedly. But this song is always welcome after a 15-second recuperation. This is the song that got powerhouse producers Max Martin and Shellback on board to oversee Adam’s entire project. It’s not hard to see why. It’s good.Many parts of it sound so eerily familiar. Yet the entire track feels so damn fresh and original (no pun intended, I think) it leaves you (me) thrilled by the fact that it’s in the Adam Lambert catalogue.
Plucky guitar opens the track, laying down the song’s core melody. Grounded by the crispiest finger snaps I’ve heard in a minute. Absolutely excellent production value from the very first second. Enter Adam’s voice. Well. Huh. I don’t feel I’ve ever heard him sound like this. And I’m so happy this was corrected. Adam’s voice here is so crisp, rivalling even the finger snaps. He sounds so appealingly cool, calm and suave. It’s ridiculous. Sometimes I fear I’ll never get tired of the sound of his voice on these passages It’s magic! Just the way he pronounces the lyrics is the SHIT. ‘Pushing a hundred and FIF-TIH,just to get a rise’. Lord. Help me. I live for gorgeous tone. The expression in his voice is so lovely here. The crowning moment comes when he sings the lyric ‘comfort’ the second time in a lovely string of lyrics that close out the first verse. EMOTE, BITCH!
All the verse lyrics (but that one in particular) are sung with a certain cool gusto (if that combination is even possible). There’s also an element of playfulness to it all. I always imagine Adam doing a a sort of tripped out hula dance when I hear these verses. He circles the listener as he sweetly and somewhat seductively near-whispers in the closest ear. Weird, I know. I’m sorry.
My favourite songs always transport me to a certain setting. Like Ghost Town, this song does just that. To the beach we go. I’m the listener in the story. And I smile through it all. So many emotions and the first verse is just rounding off at this point. Goodness.
A beat drops in as Adam’s tone sharpens on (literally) nostalgic lines about the past. At this point the breezy summer feel of the track has fully settled in. I can almost feel the breeze slip through my mom’s car windows back home on the island. Ah, and here comes the chorus. The part that may surprise many who are accustomed to hearing Adam-choruses being big belt-y affairs. Adam uses a smooth-as-fuck falsetto across a melody partly identical to the one in the verses as he sings about wanting to feel that first rush, that first touch. That first something. It’s deliciously done. I’m not always a fan of Adam’s use of falsetto when he chooses to use it, but I thoroughly love how he sounds here. Drifting and sweet. Distant waves on a Californian beach. High and sleek. Ah, yes.
I’ll sidetrack for a second to offer an odd observation. The core melody throughout this song reminded me of something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Something I’d heard before but couldn’t quite recall. Ironic, I thought, as the song preaches of trying to get back to that original feeling, vibe, etc. A memory, in my case. And then one day I found myself listening to the bridge of Ghost Town and realised (to my wonderment) that the melody of its bridge and the melodies in The Original High are somewhat similar. Rhythmically they’re different. But I challenge you to sing the line ‘There’s no one left in the world’ of Ghost Town fame and then ‘Just let me feel the rush” from this song right behind it and see if you don’t see a resemblance. Not a big thing but I thought it was interesting. In my head, anyway. Back to the chorus.
Adam ends his delicious falsetto offering with a deliciously sung lyric: ‘Cuz I’m…chasing the original high’. Long before this song was made available for our listening pleasure I’d wondered how this combination of words could possibly sound interesting in a song. But it does. It so does. And It’s a thing of beauty. The ‘cuz I’m’ comes in so perfectly after the core melody plays out. It almost seems to lock whatever fumes Adam’s been inhaling in place just before the song snakes its way down into the meat of the chorus with the deliciously phrased ‘chasing the original high’ lyric. The beat kicks in and Adam repeats the latter line a few times, sounding and singing reasonably high himself. It’s exquisite. When listening, I’m always stuck between my desire to do slow body rolls and wanting to simply worm my hands through the air like I’m listening to the Lambada on a cool summer night. More often than not, I combine the two. Rinse and repeat.
The verses come in, sounding similarly delicious to the first batch (the way he sings HUNGer though! OMG! Huge fuck you to verse 1’s ‘comfort’! I’m hungry, Adam!). The pre-chorus kicks the song into second gear. The chorus snakes on up, putting smiles on children’s faces (my face). The beat drops and I mirror the hula-ing Adam of my imagination. Hips roll. Waves drift. Clouds sigh. It’s all so lovely. And I’m already quite satisfied.
But after a fun little ‘yeah!’ vocal run from Adam, a quickly-sung bridge about summertime seamlessly seeps in. Adam’s voice and the production fall away, giving way to cutesy Lambert ad-libs before….well.... SHIT. Apparently I’M DONE WITH LIFE. OMG. Adam meanders and plays with his voice a tad before unleashing a devastating MONSTER wail on the lyric ‘high!’, swiftly joined by an even higher Adam wail in the mix. Together, they effectively achieve what can only be described as harmonic perfection. ORGASMIC. I get goosebumps every time. It’s amazing. Sends the song straight into legendary status for me.
To top it all off (or bottom it out), the beat drops in once more and Adam augments the falsetto chorus with some full-voice jabs for extra effect. Little delicious Adam runs and shit. The plucky guitar gets a mini solo and the song ends. Just like that. Just like THAT. WOW! I love this song. The Original High is like the cooler (and better) follow-up to Trespassing’s breezy Naked Love.
My children (if I am ever so lucky) will wake up to the sound of this song drifting through the house on school days. Before then, my parents and sister will get tired of hearing it when I return home this summer.
LUVVV: - Adam’s intimate vocals in the verses - The lovely falsetto work in the choruses - The entire bridge - The rhythmic flow of the many passages throughout this song, especially right before the meat of the chorus
Favourite lyric:
“There’s no comfort in cum comfort, I need the edge. But the edge keeps drifting, it's all in my head”
Life-affirming moment(s): So-oh-o HIGHHHHHHHH EEE YEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Not a fan of: Your face. Fuck outta here.
Personal grade: 9.3 out of 10 (AMAZING! It DOES fucking cook)
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3. ANOTHER LONELY NIGHT
Where to begin with this one? This song is special, a curious beast. It takes me on a journey through alternating layers of emotion, parts of a greater whole as mystifying as it is compelling. This sentiment holds true roughly 70 plays later.
I was decidedly unimpressed initially. I remember feeling that there were a few (too many) ‘empty’ moments throughout the song, particularly in the slow build to the 1st chorus after the 1st verse.
There was that disappointing chorus, seemingly lacking in impact. Damn.
In the weeks leading up to the album’s release I’d heard many a glorious remark about this chorus. I found myself expecting something profound. But the chorus-- and the song in general-- though nice, were not giving me what I needed.
This would change, however, as my second time proved a completely different experience. There’s a sex analogy here somewhere, I’m sure. But I’ll leave it be. Fact is: one extra listen can change......well......EVERYTHING.
One of my Twitter friends, Lisa (@purplegirll), once told me that my first listen experience is basically useless. I’m almost always unsatisfied. She’s right, of course. And so I’ve taken her words to heart and now completely disregard my initial reaction to any and every piece of music. That second or third (or even fourth) listen does wonders for me.
And so it was with Another Lonely Night. This song stole my heart.
Pensive piano chords open this track, accompanied by a haunting xylophonic loop and chill finger snaps. Not quite the crispy finger snaps of The Original High, but they don’t need to be. I’d argue that their place in the sound mix is brilliant, aptly complimenting the overall ‘chilled-out’ vibe of this opening segment. The combination of these and the aforementioned loop manages to strike one (read: me) with a sense of aching yet giddy melancholy. The loop reminds me of so much yet so little. Various memories of childhood, too distant in the past to feel completely real. Hearing it, I’m transported to soundscapes of my early days, filled with similar sounds pulled from children’s TV series. Perhaps this explains the wave of nostalgia I feel immediately after this song begins. Adam occasionally plays along, his voice skipping along to the beat in childlike fashion towards the end of the verses.
Visually I’m brought to a scene of calmly drifting clouds, a midnight blue sky. Adam’s voice, set sweetly in the mix, leaps across this landscape in grippingly elegant fashion.
The crisp and emotive vocals mirror the lyrics, both adding an aura of painful longing to the song. Adam sings of that seemingly unceasing yearning for a past lover/partner, glaringly aware that such thoughts are far from healthy.
He knows he should let this person go but it’s apparent that he doesn’t feel (or at least seem) ready to. A tragic feeling, one I feel many (myself included) can relate to. Self-awareness in the dark moments: seemingly useless at the time but hopefully indicative of epiphanies to come.
Where the space between the verses and the chorus once left me cold, it now seems to underline the emotional theme of the song. Adam’s softly crooning voice and a curious yet perfect backing wail by Sterling Fox (presumably, according to my album booklet) gently propel the song forward through the moody haze. A pitched-down ‘yeah’ briefly snaps you out of what feels like a dream sequence set to sound, before the song drops into phase 2: the chorus. Arpeggiated synth joins the finger snaps as Adam wails like only a tenor of his abilities can. He emotes brilliantly here, sounding tragically sad yet slightly hopeful as he drowns in his loneliness and yearns for his lost connection.
Herein lies the magic of this song for me. While it sounds incredibly sad, all things responsible for setting this vibe (the production, the vocal performance the lyrics) seem to bear an element of swooning hopefulness to them that almost suggests a happy- if far off - ending. Not quite bittersweet really, as the sadness in this track outweighs any (if any) sense of hope.
Another lonely lovely verse follows before the chorus hits again. It hits a bit deeper this time around, striking some deep emotional chord now that the song has you under its spell. The bridge washes over you with a series of affected but poignant wails before Adam comes through once more in preparation for the final lap. His voice stutters awake after a brief musical lapse and he reiterates that it’s just another (day, another lonely night). You get the sense that dude’s given up on life when you hear him sing these words. At least for now. At least for tonight. And maybe some part of the morning, too.
The chorus hiccups to life once more and epic backing Adam wails along with other vocal touches (by Mr. Fox) help close out this simple but plaintive epic.
And so ends the third track on The Original High. A great song, I feel. A great song, indeed.
Yet I can see why many won’t and don’t like this song. Its childlike ‘boppiness’ may prove (or already is) off-putting for some, the arpeggiated synth in the chorus a bit too old school for others. I've seen one person say the song puts them to sleep. No song can win over everyone. But I think this song works for me because it strikes a perfect balance between the many elements present, creating a wonderful musical landscape for me to escape to and wrap myself in for brief stretches of time. I almost dread the amount of times I’ll play this if my next relationship doesn’t end in marriage.
LUVVV: - the simple but supremely effective lyrics - the part towards the end when hyper wail-y Adam comes out to play - for some reason I love that in the first chorus he belts ‘day’ shortly, using no diphthongs (another DEH). It somehow feels so right to me. He uses them in the rest of the choruses (another DAY-EE) and that sounds great as well (the nuances in this song are life) Favourite lyric: ”Wasted on you, high on the fumes, know I should let you go”
Life-affirming moment(s): This song hits home for personal reasons. The vibe and lyrics do a lot for me. There’s always a moment when I realise I’m no longer stuck in the emotional state that the narrative details. That’s always a huge relief. Not a fan of: ...can’t think of anything to be honest. I really like this song.
Personal Grade: 8.5 out of 10 (Gloriously good!) And also............ IT’S A PITCHED DOWN ‘YEAH’ GODDAMMIT. Y’ALL NEED GOOD SPEAKERS AND SOME HEADPHONES FOR CHRISTMAS.
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4. UNDERGROUND
'I want you to take me underground’. The first of two ‘urban’-flavoured songs on the album, Underground sees Adam tackle a new sound. And yet, a very Adam sound. When the official tracklist for the album hit the web, this track had me curious. I’m not entirely sure why. Perhaps it had something to do with the lyric in Shady (another of Adam’s songs) that contained the lyric ‘underground’. The latter song being one of my favourite Adam creations, I maybe hoped (foolishly) that Underground would follow up on Shady’s funky aesthetic. I was quite wrong, though. This song is something else entirely. This is a moody R&B-leaning track equipped with an undeniably ‘pop’ hook; the dark and moody afterparty to Shady’s glitzy funk rave. Quite an interesting feel for Adam. I’ve long hoped to hear him add some R&B flair to his music and he did just that here. Sadly, I was not a fan of this song when it was released as an instant gratification track prior to the album’s release. But it has grown on me a good deal since. Plaintive piano opens this track, shortly joined by Adam’s beautiful tenor on the opening verses. Adam paints a picture of his thoughts when a certain lover/partner isn’t around in these simple but lovely melodic passages. The vocal here is very pretty. The resonance at the end of each line is so exquisite I lose myself in the softness of his voice, especially when listening with good headphones.
His tone here conveys the meaning of the lyrics perfectly. The cadence of the verse melody hint at the R&B touches to come, sounding rhythmic and pretty simultaneously. It’s almost always sad when this section comes to an end. But the following section completely extinguishes this sentiment. A well-placed (pitched-down) ‘stolen’ lyric and swell in sound herald the drop of the groovy pre-chorus. The section which I feel truly grounds this song. Finger snaps and sub-bass drive the song a gear higher as Adam infectiously lays down bold statements about his connection with the (addictive) person in question. I love the ‘like I do’ and ‘like you do’ lyrics here. They’re quite fun to sing along to. The whole pre-chorus in general really. It’s very...now. Interestingly, two other current pop songs use the ‘like you do’ lyric (Tori Kelly’s ‘Nobody Love’ and Ellie Goulding’s ‘Love Me Like You Do’) and I can’t say that I’m mad with this trend. The pre-chorus also includes the hilarious ‘velcro’ lyric that most people either hate or love (I love it!). Some feel it’s a bad metaphor, which is interesting. While I won’t say it’s the best, I feel it matches the fun shoulder-popping R&B/pop sound of this section perfectly. Some say the whole point of velcro is that it makes things stick extremely well, so the ‘can’t rip you off and go solo’ lyric is redundant. But I see this line as an implicit follow-up explanation for his use of the ‘velcro’ metaphor and not Adam seeming surprised that velcro actually makes shit stick. But yeah. That’s me. A string instrument-sound in the back of the mix swiftly carries the song out of the pre-chorus bop and into its hook section. Ah, the hook section. l strongly disliked this part of the song in the early days of listening. While I felt the higher vocals felt right at this point in this song, I remember feeling that the hook’s melody was borderline basic and largely unsatisfying. This after the preceding sections having set the stage so beautifully. Adam’s falsetto on the ‘I want you, I need you’ lines didn’t agree with my ears and the fact that the entire pre-chorus section was repeated once after ending (though with added hi-hats in the mix) didn’t help the situation. These days I can appreciate the hook section on occasion but it still doesn’t hit me as hard I wish it would. I find the repetition throughout to be somewhat fitting, but something about it still underwhelms me. I I feel a repetitive chorus/hook should have a memorable melody/flow for said repetitive chorus/hook’s charm to find purchase. I find myself wishing more thought was put into the crafting of the hook here, as the one we’re given leaves much to be desired. The second string of verses enter smoothly albeit with a slightly less intimate feel after the chorus’ conclusion. The finger snaps and bass decide they’re not being sidelined till later on and lend the verses an added R&B-flare that the first verses only hinted at. A nice addition here, I feel. The melody is basically the same but this touch makes the song feel like it’s building to something and not merely repeating itself. This of course makes the transition to the pre-chorus feel like less of a mood shift, which at this point in the song feels just about right. By the time the hook section ends this time, you almost expect some dramatic Adam high note to bring it all home. Instead, the production falls away to piano-only moments (like at the beginning of the song) with one simple line from Adam before the chorus descends once more. This is very tastefully done and I applaud the choice to keep the vibe super chill, only allowing a bit of Adam bombast in the bouncy ‘trouble!’ shouts towards the end. Underground is a groovy comedown track after the trifecta of Ghost Town, The Original High and Another Lonely Night. I came to appreciate it after a few weeks of feeling it was a bit mediocre. Though I don’t play it as much as I play some other songs, you may find me shoulder-popping to it every now and then in my room. LUVVV: - The entire pre-chorus section Life-affirming moment(s): None here really but the velcro lyric does give me some measure of life. Favourite lyric: “When you go I’m trippin’, but I”m pretendin I’m fine.” Not a fan of: - the hook section in general Personal grade: 7 out of 10 (Good but not particularly impressive) ---------------------------
5. THERE I SAID IT
So here it is. The big ballad of the album.
There I Said It sees Adam singing about the wearying judgment or scrutiny of some bitch, group, institution, etc. Putting your foot down and saying you won’t take their shit. It begins quite softly, gentle piano leading the way before Adam comes in. Quite like Underground, only the feel here is quite different. Adam’s vocals dip and rise ever so gently across these sad opening verses......
PAUSE ONE SEC. Let me get straight to the point with this one before I continue. This song confuses the shit out of me. I didn’t know what to write about it for the longest while because my opinion on it changed drastically each day. One day I hated it. The next I thought it was hella powerful. Then I’d hate it again. Some days I just think it’s halfway decent. It’s a fucking headache. I think I’ll try to express how it makes me feel as well as I can and summarise by reflecting on my overall impression after weeks of listening. Ok. Here we go.
A Swedish fan who’d attended a pre-release listening party where the song was played noted that the song sounded like a Disney song. Someone else on Twitter mentioned that the vibe was reminiscent of Christmas. By the time my CD arrived, I was decidedly confused. I found the aforementioned to be odd descriptors for a mainstream pop song. But lo and behold, the observations were not off-base. The flow of the verses remind me of a ballad in an animated (Christmas) movie. It wouldn’t sound too out of place in films like The Polar Express. While I like such movies, hearing this on a mainstream pop record is disconcerting on some days. Especially after 4 decidedly contemporary-sounding tracks. Other days I find myself thinking: hey, what’s better than warm Christmas-like bops? It’s CHRISTMAS, MALCOLM; YOU LOVE CHRISTMAS, DAMMIT. Hmm. So yeah. There’s that. Anyway.
The second verse sees hand claps enter the mix, which I imagine was to help the song build to subsequent sections. Something about it doesn’t sit well with me on the bad days. On such days it feels like a forced attempt to bring the song into a somewhat modern-pop universe. On the good days it’s completely different, like: aw, Santa’s good kids are clapping in unison behind their snowcapped windows as they wait to hear Santa’s distant sleigh bells ring out on a cold and jolly Christmas eve. I don’t even know.
The pre-chorus sees the seasonal aesthetic further highlighted with the addition of a rattle instrument sound that vaguely reminds me of the aforementioned sleigh bells jingling. It doesn’t gnaw at me usually, mainly because the pre-chorus vocals here are really lovely. Even on the bad days. Adam is perfectly restrained here, singing truths to/about the accused party. These are quite possibly the finest moments in the song. Adam applies a light tone to full and beautiful effect here with a dash of contained falsetto for added (Malcolm) delight.
It all builds to the chorus which, I imagined (before listening), would be devastatingly powerful. Epic level. Instead I’m left quite disappointed by it on the bad days and struck by the belt-y ‘there’ lyric and nothing else on the good ones. Adam extends up into his register to lay down the titular lyrics. Always impressive, but the combination of the slightly dated feel of this chorus and the (in my opinion) poor ‘grown-ass man’ lyric make for an unsatisfying experience.
There’s something about the bombast of it that sounds decidedly 90’s power ballad to me. Down to the little run he does on the word ‘more’. I almost expect him to follow up with parts of the chorus to Celine Dion’s ‘Power of Love’ after the first line.
The ‘grown-ass man’ lyric effectively kills any mood this song had built by this point and its repetition throughout the rest of the song hammers home the fact that it sticks out as the most unfortunately chosen lyric on the album thus far. In my opinion, of course.
While the pre-chorus often succeeds in lifting me to the heartbreaking place the song on a whole tries to reach, the aforementioned lyric (particularly how it’s sung) drives the song into the realm of melodrama. Just slightly. I’ve tried many times to get accustomed to it but it continues to rub me the wrong way. The good days temper the mood-kill at times, admittedly. But I’m never truly happy with it.
The next serving of verses is accompanied by what reminds me of some sort of African percussive instrument. This feels kind of plastered on but I find myself enjoying it, if only for the fact that its hollow timbre adds a fitting backdrop for the the song’s lyrics. The pre-chorus sees a fuller-voiced Adam emerge, a nice touch. Plus points for his lower background vocals here. Adam’s wail here in the second chorus is a bit bigger than the first. A good musical touch in my opinion. It gives the impression that Adam grows in confidence (re: his blunt defiance) as the song progresses.
After more repetitions of the chorus, the instrumental takes over completely before fading away. And so ends this song.
Hmm. I’m sure it’s pretty clear by now that my feelings are very mixed on this song. I’ve taken my time with all the tracks, given myself time to digest them all. But this one always confuses me. It’s a day by day thing. I like a good Adam ballad, but the lyrical and melodic choices here do not sit well with me at times.
Increasingly I find myself liking this song a bit more, especially everything outside of the ‘grown-ass’ man lyric. There’s something really good here, but it’s all weighed down by some key aspects of the song.
LUVVV: - The sad but beautiful pre-chorus
Life-affirming moment(s): None here, sadly
Favourite lyric: “I tell ya something, it’s a double-edged sword you’re givin’”
Not a fan of: - The Christmas/Disney vibe on this song (on the good days, I love it. Go figure) - The chorus melody - The ‘grown-ass man’ lyric
Personal grade: 6.8 out of 10 (Hard one, but all things considered, I think this sums up my feelings if I look at the big picture)
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6. RUMORS (FEAT. TOVE LO)
Scrutiny from assholes in the industry (or anywhere really) will come. Adam knows this. It helps to have someone around you to keep you centred. Rumors speaks on the importance of such, channeling a decidedly hip hop/pop vibe while doing so.
It is the sister track to the R&B-esque Underground, albeit a tad more pronounced in its ‘urban’ leanings. Adam is joined by pop radio songstress Tove Lo (AKA: my wife) to deliver his first pop duet. A nice addition to his discography.
The song opens somewhat surprisingly with a verse by Tove. Lamenting the awful things she’s heard (about herself? BAH), Tove sounds great here. In isolation, the verse melodies are not particularly interesting. Set against the moody vibe set by the production however, they sound quite lovely.
The verse verse fades out and leads into a pre-chorus where Adam comes in….sing-rapping! And he sounds pretty cool doing it. I’ve seen some say his voice is almost unrecognisable here, but it sounds quite like him in my opinion. He’s singing quite low but it’s not that low, relatively speaking. To me it sounds like a tenor attacking lower notes. The timbre is very Adam. Tove sings on the outskirts of these somewhat formulaic but pleasing sing-rap lines.
The chorus is a nice blast of pop loveliness, Adam and Tove professing that having each other (well that special someone, cuz… yeah) is all that’s important. Fuck the rumours. LOVE WINS OVER…the bullshit and other non-glitzy shit. A familiar sentiment but done quite nicely here. Throughout these segments I always bob my head in appreciation for the lovely little hip hop spice sprinkled on them. Down to the Apple Bottom Jeans-esque synth that is peppered throughout a majority of the song. Deep bass rumbling everywhere, anchoring the verses and the choruses in particular. Adam’s voice is more present in the first half of the choruses but then my wife comes in a bit clearer for the ‘Cuz I don’t need to lie to YOU’ part with her gorgeous falsetto accompanying Adam’s on the last part of that line. Lovely. I always feel like they’re up in the sky singing the chorus for some strange reason. It has that vibe. For me, at least.
The second verse is sung by Adam. As he is a beast of a high tenor vocalist, he sings it just as high as Tove or any other female pop star would, naturally sounding a bit higher up in his register than they would of course. On-point! His talk about envy/jealousy and the need to keep that special person close lead right back into that rap-singing pre-chorus. Here Adam and Tove are both pretty much equally present in the vocal mix, nicely building on the first pre-chorus. I love how— throughout the album— it’s evident that structuring these songs optimally was a priority. The songs build well in general.
The second chorus seamlessly flows into a high energy bridge where Tove and Adam take turns hammering the message of the song home. First Tove, then Adam.
This is the part where Adam urges his partner (or the listener) to ‘get out of the haterade’. And well…though not as unfortunate as the ‘grown-ass man’ lyric in the preceding track, this is a similarly unfortunate lyric. I’m often onboard with lulzy lyrics in pop but this just sounds like an outdated lyric addition, added in the year 2006. I find myself avoiding singing it when singing along. Like a bleeped out expletive on US radio. I do wonder why no one in the writing room bothered to mention that this lyric was not up to par. It’s heartening to know it only appears once in the song, as opposed to multiple times like the lyric in There I Said It.
Adam and Tove sing the chorus one last time, this time accompanied by a monster Adam wail at the back of the mix that ends in a somewhat Idol Adam fashion (that vocal run). Lovely to hear, kind of the cherry on top of a nicely done pop vocal overall.
I like how this track is kind of a departure for both artists production-wise yet succeeds at being a perfect vessel for their characteristic voices. The lyrics do a pretty neat job of conveying the message albeit through somewhat bland melody structures (in the verses particularly). Tove’s lyrics appealed to me a bit more than Adam’s overall but on a whole no one outdid anyone in this duet. It was a perfect mix. Many consider this a potential smash for Adam due to the presence of Tove Lo. Though I’m not entirely convinced of her power to help him climb charts (her chart success has been and is still more of a slow burn), I can definitely hear this song being on the radio. I know it’ll appeal to a good many.
LUVVV: - My wife - Adam’s wail at the end of the bridge - the deep bass centring the track
Life-affirming moment: My wife
Favourite lyric: “You’ll never believe what I heard on the wire” (Partly cuz I imagine Tove holding Adam’s hands or embracing him in dramatic fashion as she delivers this line to him)
Not a fan of: - the ‘haterade’ lyric
Personal grade: 7.8 out of 10 (Very nice track: a bit predictable but still very pleasing to the ear)
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7. EVIL IN THE NIGHT
Track 7 is another of the early instant grat tracks, fan-fave Evil In The Night. Back when I was doing my best not to listen to anymore tracks after the arrival of Underground (before the album was released), this song was frequently praised on my Twitter feed. It and Another Lonely Night were presented as the last two pre-release singles. I annoyed many by asking about the sound of it and got such varying replies that it was damn near impossible to get a good idea. In retrospect, some of it was very on-point.
This song is a curiously structured piece of music, opening with the hook section and taking its time before moving onto the first verse. Like a good few songs on the album, this one opens with simple but effective piano and Adam’s voice. Adam sings in his mid-low register, immediately painting a vivid picture of a certain individual.
‘My life flashed before my eyes, razor blade lips and daggers up in your eyes’
Possibly the most striking lyrical opening to an Adam song yet to be honest. The second part sounds downright deadly and darkly poetic.
He continues the narrative, cementing this person as being ever problematic, independent of the time of day but ultimately at their worst in the nighttime. It’s great how Adam sings this first part in a most perfect key for his voice, dipping deeper down into his lower register for the ‘(daggers) up in your eyes’ and ‘(evil) in the night’ lines, adding an extra glint of menace to the opening segment.
From here Adam takes it up a whole fucking octave basically and sings the exact same lines as before. But here he sounds less like he’s in a dark room writing equally dark poetry, and more like he’s up in the person’s face throwing his frustrations about his life in it. Instead of razor blade lips he sings of a bomb-blasted Broadway and fire in the sky.
I can’t help but think of Adam’s past dreams of making it big in the theater world here. A world he loved but one that never propelled him to its forefront. Or let him be the entertainer he wanted to be. He basically said fuck it and tried to make it on his own terms, becoming his own artist. But he’s gone through his ups and downs on that front as well. When listening to this song I imagine his lines about Broadway (along with the opening lyrics about life flashing by) to point to this song actually being about a lifelong narrative of one repeatedly let down by lovers. By relationships. Life. In essence: failed dreams of something more. Always and ultimately burned to the ground. Underneath it all is a hint of being aware of the cycle but finding it difficult to get out of, which the song gets at later in the pre-chorus. Oiii, getting ahead of myself.
After quite a lengthy opening chorus the song finally digs into a groove. Wailing synths somewhat reminiscent of Charli XCX drone in and out like bizarro sirens as Adam repeats some pivotal lines about the person in question. Then, after 50 seconds into the song, the first verse finally kicks in.
Further describing the person as basically a bad bitch (especially in the night) with the assistance of some ‘hey!’s, Adam sounds quite like another Adam in the pop world. The playful, slightly nasal staccato funk-pop delivery is very Adam Levine/Maroon 5. The ‘hey’s too. Or the combination of all the aforementioned. I like this section, but I always feel like I’m listening to another artist when I hear it, which isn’t exactly fun when listening to one of your favourite artists.
It leads into a pre-chorus where Adam asks to be put on a leash (OMG). There’s no room for him to hide. He’ll see this other person on the other side.
This whole section further strengthens my belief that the song is really about feeling helpless when confronted with the wiles or presence of a certain person (or people who are actually all the same in so far as the experiences you have with them go, collectively). He needs some help to get out of this shit cycle. He’s hooked. Somewhat like he is in Underground, basically.
From here the song goes back to the chorus section that opened the song. Only this time, the octave-higher section is complemented by funky-ass guitar that gives the proceedings a somewhat different and more upbeat vibe.
But only somewhat, in my opinion. For as much as the chorus lines/melodies are fascinating, they’re used so often in this song that by this point it all begins to feel a wee bit repetitive. By the time the second verse comes in the song is already past the two-minute mark. Usually the part in many a pop song when the second chorus is in full-swing or coming to an end before the bridge takes over. Not a crime per se, but it kind of feels like one in this particular case. I’m always struck by a strange feeling when the second verse kicks in. Right before it begins I almost feel like the song has already exhausted its musical formula applied to that point. And then it reverts back to a section that doesn’t (try to) propel the song to any new or exciting heights that would (in my opinion) justify its use once more. But after a dozen seconds this feeling passes and I find myself somewhat enjoying the rest of the song.
The second verse completes the picture Adam’s been painting of this person, suggesting that the person is probably just flawed/fucked up (like many supposedly terrible people). But at the end of the day it doesn’t matter, because Adam is into it/them. The pre-chorus lifts the song one more time and the chorus descends with a few added vocally bombastic moments from Adam for accentuation. To good effect. Adam ends with some cool riff-y vocals before he utters the line about Broadway once more and our synths bring the song to a close.
Interesting line to end the song with. I see it as the overarching theme of the song. The evil bitches in the night are fucked up but it’s the harrowing process of dealing with failed relationships, dreams, etc that’s the true bitch of the story. Chasing that dream and having it never come true each time. Fuck the original high to be honest (not the song, of course. Cuz please). Ah yeah.
I like this song a lot. The lyrics in the chorus are really A+ stuff. I used to get really hype listening to it in the first weeks of listening. Admittedly though, I’ve listened to it much less since the first week or two. Most probably because of how repetitive the song is. Its chorus is striking but by halfway in I feel like I’ve experienced all this song has to offer. Sometimes there’s nothing more annoying than the guest who stays way past their welcome. You can’t deny the bombast of the chorus, though. Nice stuff.
I’d never want this song as a single personally, mostly because it’s not catchy-repetitive in the way a song like Ghost Town is. But it remains a very nice album track. Not quite like anything Adam’s done before but it remains the closest thing to Adam’s past work on this album because of his in-your-face vocal delivery (the other reason why I wouldn’t select it as a single). Ultimately, this is a gem of a vocal for a big fan like me.
LUVVV: - The chorus lyrics - The way he sings the lyric ‘baby’
Life-affirming mom-- BOMBS OVER BROADWAY, F-FIRE IN THE SKY
Favourite lyri-- BOMBS OVER BROADWAY, F-FIRE IN THE SKY!!! BITCH. But really, ‘razor blade lips and daggers up in your eyes’ is right up there.
Not a fan of: - The Maroon 5-isms in the verses - The repetitiveness of this song
Personal grade: 7.3 out of 10 (Some really good stuff here, but ultimately too repetitive to be exactly great and endlessly refreshing like other tracks on the album)
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8. LUCY (FEAT. BRIAN MAY)
9 —Things I Didn’t Say
10 — The Light
