Taking a break from music is an understandable option for an artist: time to recharge, rethink, reevaluate, and do whatever you need to do. But you could argue that three decades away is a bit extreme. However, I would argue that since returning to the sonic fray at the start of the year, Mister Chorister has delivered some interesting and exciting music. Perhaps this break between his first and second musical chapters has made him a better musician and songwriter, more worldly, more astute, more mature.
So, following ‘Brave’ and Spark,’ ‘You’re Not Listening’ marks his third musical missive, a cool pop-rock piece, funk-bass driven, increasingly cocooned in rich textures – chiming pianos and acoustic guitar rhythms, washes of Hammond, squalling electric lead breaks, intriguing dynamic shape born of the use of lulls and lifts, and engaging and urgent lyrics. It’s got the lot.
And the title says it all: we live in a world where we often feel as if we are shouting into the void, where we can’t or perhaps won’t be heard, isolated and ignored. But as much as the song looks outwards, it also applies to those inner voices, our own internal monologue that we all too often ignore, that from-the-heart, guiding advice, and those gut feelings that our modern, logical brain feels the need to override.
I’m not advocating that Mister Chorister makes a habit of such extreme hiatuses…hiatii? hiatory?…such creative vacations, but I do wonder if these are songs he could have written as a younger man. There’s a lot to be said for having been around the block a time or two.
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