A recent release from Nick Simone delivers a very particular breed of honesty and the form of an edgy but somewhat lush post-punk soundscape that comes along with rich sense, inventive beats, and this sort of persona or character that comes right along with the track and ends up being something that you get acquainted with pretty quickly.
"Volunteer Hero" damn near brilliantly combines layers of instrumentation and textures that have a way of complimenting each other and driving the song forward in this sort of natural flow.
Along with the beats having a certain kind of growth to them as the song plays on, suited the sense and guitars as well but it's the way that the song is arranged that reaches out and grabs you because it has an almost cinematic feel to it and a strange way.
There's an air of mystery and a sense of vastness in this song's undertone and that's part of what becomes addictive.
One of the things I adore most about this track is the sheer fact that there are some surprises around the corner and a lot of those surprises have to do with the production of the song itself and what Nick does to add the element of surprise and edginess.
Just about halfway through the song, the beat, and certain keys get decimated bringing on this whole sort of decaying feel to the track, but it also adds that extra punch that lets the song hit more aggressively in a sense.
It's things like this that make the song feel almost alive and breathing. It keeps you on your toes and puts you in the moment.
For me, it's the guitars and the vocals that really bring the song together in terms of utilizing that post punk soundscape and you can tell that this is a big part of the staple feel for the sound Nick is going for because it's aesthetically nailed for the most part.
The guitar tones have that and of chorus effect on them and that lets them sound like they're swimming through the song in a way while the vocals are deep-toned and have a way of blending in with the song super well almost as if they're instruments themselves.
One of the things I have to touch on here that I don't feel like a lot of reviewers would, is the mix of this song.
The reason why is because again, this track delivers a particular aesthetic, and people that grew up in the '80s and early '90s will totally get it because that's when this kind of music was at its peak. When I say this kind of music I do mean a more edgy sort of personal post-punk approach.
The mix of a song like this is imperative to get right when you want to deliver that kind of feel or aesthetic.
This song is dynamically balanced so incredibly well that you can hear everything perfectly.
A lot of times you come across a song like this and the vocals are just blasting over the music, and you can barely hear the synths or certain melodies that the keys are doing but here, everything is just flush, and so you can hear the vocals, guitars, keys, and the drums remain the loudest part of the track which lets it drive everything.
In my opinion, this is exactly the way it should be when it comes to classic post-punk music.
This song was a great escape and had a wonderful way of pulling me away from my surroundings for a little chunk of time and putting me into a different place that felt almost fantastical in a way.
This is a track that was well thought out, had a lot of character, and was done with a lot of attention to detail but not without losing that personality it began with.
Check this track out and I suggest doing so with headphones on so you can really soak in everything that's happening in the atmosphere of this track.
Remember where you heard it first.
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