Never one to rest on his laurels, Eric Schroeder’s new single sees him heading along altogether new paths. If his previous album, Turned On The Stereo, was both angst-ridden and musically understated, songs forged of equal amounts of harmony and heart-ache, with Cat’s Game, his new long-player, he opts for electric-guitar fuelled songs of clarity, cleansing, and catharsis. If before, his music seeped its way into the listener’s heart, now it cut like a knife into their very soul.
“Don’t Wanna Let You Go” is a brilliant taster of his new sonic state of mind, a song full of sharp electric riffs, pumping energy, and buoyant basslines. But it is the sentiment that he captures within the music that is the magic touch: that inexplicable sense of longing and desire for a person that you feel might be slipping away, someone who seems to be playing games with you, games to which you don’t understand the rules.
As a calling card for the new album, it’s great. As a signpost for his new musical direction, it is exciting. As a single in its own right, it’s nothing less than fantastic.