Small Towns, the debut single from Michael Eddy, begs a bit of an iceberg analogy. Bear with me. The song might be his first foray into music, at least in the eyes of the public at large, but this sonic pinnacle that sits above the water is the tip of a very large iceberg of abilities. Look below the waterline, and you find a wealth of talent and experience, so much so that it belies his young age.
Already an accomplished singer, multi-instrumentalist musician, actor and dancer, you might wonder where he would find the time to add the title of recording artist to his growing resume. But just be glad that he did, as Small Towns is a perfect slice of heartwarming indie-pop for the current age.
Pop? Certainly, but put together in such a deft and delicious way that it goes above and beyond what most creators in that genre are happy to put their name to. Running on a buoyant and infectious acoustic drive, bass and back beats laying down the perfect groove and harmonious gang vocals, the organic nature is the real charm. Not for Michael Eddy, the trick and gimmicks that have become the usual pop fodder – no guest rappers, no enforced dance routines, no electronic shortcuts, no steals or samples – this is pop music made in a way that is more akin to the indie and rock way of working and the result is the best of both worlds.
On the one hand, it has the addictive and accessible qualities of pop music; it gets the feet moving, the heart pounding, and the blood pumping for sure, but it also has the cool of the indie set, the honesty of the country genre and echoes with the authenticity of the rock world. Country-rock in pop clothing? Maybe!
But a song isn’t sold on such technicalities; it is sold on how quickly and easily it builds bridges with the audience, how effortlessly it gets under the skin, in the head, perhaps even the heart and soul, of the potential pop purchaser. If this were a pop pickers box-ticking exercise, you’d be sharpening your pencil for a second time now, as everything you expect from a modern pop song is present and correct …and then some.
Lyrically, it plays to the age-old story of opposites attracting, of star-crossed lovers, of two worlds colliding – a tale as old as Orpheus and Eurydice, Lancelot and Guinevere, Romeo and Juliet and Ross and Rachel. It also has shades of everything from the world of Footloose to the lyrics of Don’t Stop Believing woven through its narrative. Timeless stuff, but also modern and relatable, the story of young love, chance encounters and blossoming romances, something that even those who have seen a little more of life can see their younger selves reflected in.
And if you think that the song sits at the cutting edge of the modern zeitgeist, check out the video. It is a performance video, yes, but like nothing you have seen. A masterful mishmash of AI effects and computer-generated blends of live footage and animation, it speaks volumes about the modern age of music and video in the same way that the song speaks volumes about current commercial and cutting-edge chart-bound music. For chart-bound Small Towns surely is.
Michael Eddy has arrived like a breath of fresh air on the pop scene. This combination of more traditional approaches to song building coupled with the addictive qualities of the pop genre has resulted in a song full of space and light but also authenticity and honesty. It laughs in the face of the over-wrought and pretentious pop that has dominated the charts of late and reminds us that it isn’t the studio smarts or style over substance that puts an artist on the map, it isn’t samples and reliance on already familiar sounds and styles, and it isn’t the pulling of nostalgic heartstrings, something that many artists use as an easy short cut to engage with our musical comfort zones. No, what gets an artist noticed is that they are driving a great song straight into the public consciousness. Small Towns is that great song!
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