The inaugural Netsky Award for Clunkiest Parenthetical in a Dance Track…
[Video][Website]
[5.22]
Alfred Soto: Not bad post-house with restrained singing.
[6]
Scott Mildenhall: This is part of a triumvirate of Sad Dance Records — a triglumvirate — that experienced chart resurgences post-Christmas, along with the fading euphoria of Chase & Status’ “Alive” and Sub Focus’ 1.21 gigawatt-powered “Turn Back Time.” The latter in particular shares a strong regard for the sounds of the past, blurring them into those of the present (quite easy, as it happens) for laments about said past’s perpetual death. Clever! Both are highly evocative, but this is the more detailed, the extended version’s recollection of feeling “rich in poor girl’s clothes” on a September school day making it clear that the “you” is likely a parent. It’s a shame that had to be excised from the radio edit, but in either form Breach’s touches complement Triana’s own composition in a way that underlines one of the fundamentals of the universe: when you get Sad Dance Music right, you’re getting a lot right.
[8]
Jer Fairall: Early ’90s house done with appealing fidelity, right on down to the “Think (About It)” sample and a sultry Aretha-esque vocal. The chorus lacks punch, though, and the scanty running time leaves it all feeling like a bit of a tease.
[6]
Crystal Leww: A dance floor track that passes by without making much of an impression. That is not a good look for a dance floor track.
[3]
Alex Ostroff: Andreya Triana’s vocal is perfectly acceptable ’90s house revivalism, but she’s a bit too submerged in the track to hit the type of joyful-sad-ecstasy that I need. “Fever” this is not.
[5]
Katherine St Asaph: Why are the most dynamic vocalists paired with the most static tracks? Put London Grammar on this and let it be forgotten.
[5]
Brad Shoup: Triana’s not a titan, but she’s got a presence that deserves more than being held underwater and scrambled. Even when she’s the focus, she’s fronting a thin synth net that makes me think I left something playing in a browser window. Another one that’s probably fixed in the remix.
[5]
Will Adams: This score is for the extended version, which does deep house minimalism so well. A gorgeous, painful break in the middle gives way to a slow build that lets the inauspicious chorus (made gloriously wistful by Triana) seep into the mix. The climax in the final minutes — adding in bright synth stabs and the “Yeah! Woo!” break — ties everything together. The severely truncated radio edit cannot do it justice.
[7]
Anthony Easton: If you think it all sounds like this, I would return it for a full refund.
[2]