We are so used to pop music, for want of a better term, having been boiled down to its lowest common denominators – mumbly, throwaway lyrics, the same old beats, tired musical templates, dance routines to distract from the song, guest rappers, auto-tuning, you know, style over substance – that when the real deal comes along, it seems like such a revelation. It shouldn’t, but it does. Well, Patric Scott is the real deal.
I’m Not Ready is pop as it should be, as it used to be, as it will be again. It bristles with old-school pop sensibilities but never once feels like it is anything other than a cutting edge slice of modern music. And it is difficult to say what sets it apart; perhaps it is the space that the song allows itself, maybe it is the remarkable vocal delivery, the infectious, soulful hooks, the ease at which you find yourself singing along even before the first chorus has ended…okay, it is actually very easy to say what sets it apart.
Musical benchmarks don’t come along all that often but if you are in the pop game this is going to be a song, and indeed Scott is an artist, which you need to see as something to aspire to. It’s as simple as that.
