Certain songs, no matter what your mood and disposition, will manage to get you sitting bolt upright and send the synapses throughout your body firing like there’s no tomorrow – and The Fear, by Canadian singer-songwriter, Brandon Howard Roy, is exactly one of those numbers.
Thematically, the song appears to be a brilliantly composed mixture of fight and flight, with lyrics that border on being melancholic, juxtaposed with some beautifully boppy instrumentation. Special shout out to the funk-inspired bass work in the second verse which manages to be exploratory whilst keeping the song well anchored. The best word to describe The Fear would be ‘rifftastic’ – no matter which way you turn throughout the journey of this song, you’re faced with another almost criminally sticky melodic motif that is bound to bounce between your braincells and be stuck there looping for the next few months. There’s no resting on any laurels by Roy here, either, as he combines this flawless songwriting with a vocal performance that’s gutsy, expressive, and – dare I say it – perfect.
It’s great to hear, then, that The Fear is one of the singles picked from Roy’s debut album, Tough Stuff, coming out this month. If this is merely the entrée, we are already salivating for each and every note and lyric in the main course.
You can listen to The Fear by Brandon Howard Roy on your streaming platform of choice, and find out more about him on his Instagram and Facebook pages.
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