I just sat here for five minutes trying to make some physics-related joke having to do with “unstable equilibrium” but all that happened was that I realized how much stuff I’ve forgotten since high school…
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[3.75]
Alfred Soto: Look, I like your high life guitar and you’re rather cute. Instead of recording more songs, why don’t you invite yourself to my next bar outing? We can discuss music. I know: “you deserve better.”
[3]
Hannah Jocelyn: Hypothetical female protagonist of this song, he’s right; you do in fact deserve better. Please dump Zak’s excuse-making mental-illness-glorifying tropical-house-bandwagoning ass for good.
[2]
Claire Biddles: FINALLY a tropical hit to play to potential suitors to warn them about the effects of long-term mental illness on my ability to sustain relationships!!
[2]
Katherine St Asaph: The “I’m unstable” hook I can get (along with two others) from “Landspeed Song,” the push-pull from “Fast As You Can” or “Left Alone.” Why would I want to get it from trop-house?
[3]
Will Adams: There’s an opportunity for an easy joke (seems like his voice is what’s unstable, ho ho!), but I’m more interested in how this guy’s gonna bungle his upcoming collab with Kaytranada. For now, though, I’m quite concerned with the increasing saturation of dudes like Charlie Puth, Shawn Mendes and now Zak Abel caterwauling over sadface tropical house.
[3]
Scott Mildenhall: It’s reassuring that someone has noticed that John Newman has been out of view for a while, but it’s a shame it had to be Zak Abel. If oversinging constitutes instability then this song is his oyster, but otherwise he’s in trouble: nothing else about it suggests turmoil to any notable degree. Granted, it doesn’t sound unpleasant, but that’s because it seems to think tropical guitars are a shortcut to a hit. Taking the path of least resistance it may be, but that isn’t a surefire winner if you haven’t got much of a song — even less if you make it about volatility.
[5]
Will Rivitz: The mildly Balearic chilled-out pop house vein has been mined just about as deeply as it can be, and in general it’s probably time to move on. That said, if there’s any gold left, most of it is probably here. Zak Abel’s voice is crystalline, like Shawn Mendes with a better grasp on the soul from which he’s drawing, resounding plaintively over chasmic guitar and snaps. It takes a masterful performer to make lyrical content this drab in a genre this played-out sound special; Abel’s got it in him to do just that.
[8]
Katie Gill: The beat’s nice. Unfortunately, the lyrics are wangsty enough to put Stephanie Meyer to shame. He can’t be with you Bella, you deserve someone better, he has the skin of a killer, he’s unstaaaaable. Blah friggen blah.
[4]