There is something wonderfully understated about this latest track from Trey Connor, something about the structure and delivery which lets the light get in, leaves it airy and accessible, not to mention sassy, slightly soulful and soothing.
There is also something great in the way that We’ll Be Alright builds from balladic pop, at first running on sparse guitar chords, through a broader sonic soundscape to finally head towards the finish line wrapped in almost rock trappings. It’s the art of the slow burn, the build-up, the tease, carrying the listener along with it as it swathes itself in layers of texture and tone, a series of musical increments and done so effortlessly and in such a slick way that you are hard pushed to see the steps that it takes, hard pushed to see where the joins are. All you know is that you move from delicacy to drive, from grace to groove. Though you would be hard pushed to explain how you got from one to the other.
It is pop, I guess, more than anything, not that genres really matter anymore, but it is the sort of pop that swerves the usual chart notions of what that genre is about, rather using the tools more often found on the rock or indie sonic palette to create the sort of pop that has mass appeal, that crosses generic borders without even stopping to acknowledge they even exist.
It’s a great song, one that continues to deliver in a series of waves, a creative ebb and flow built on smart choices and clever song crafting. And perhaps that is exactly what pop needs right now. Music that leaves behind the obvious tropes, the studio gimmicks, the style over substance moves. And all it takes is a guy with a guitar. And, of course, the ability to write, perform and deliver a great song, to think outside the box and still offer a very broad appeal. Okay, it’s a lot more than just a guy with a guitar, but then if it was easy, we’d all be doing it.
