I remember once reading a piece of advice for social anxiety that said: when you walk into a room you imagine everyone analysing you intently, yet when someone else walks in the room you personally wouldn’t give them a second thought. And it’s true, that sort of deep reading we imagine from everyone’s gaze is the kind of thing most of us reserve for the people we’re most invested in. It’s often only when someone has your heart in the palm of their hand that you search for the significance in every gesture, the connection in every passing glance, the deeper meaning behind every word. In a sense, the bittersweet haze of ‘Kerosene’ is about the opposite of our walk-in-the-room scenario; looking into someone’s eyes hoping to see that same devoted gaze staring back at you, and instead seeing the cool aloof glance of a stranger. That realisation of the other person not being as invested in the relationship, and that fear you’ll always be the one looking for meaning where there is none, is expertly captured in the haunting mellotron swells and withdrawn, distant vocal effects. Anyone that’s known what it’s like to long for a deeper connection will almost certainly find something to connect with here.
kerosene
Top Tracks: Rett Madison – Kerosene
Did you know that scientists can’t even begin to match the computing power of the human brain? We’ve seen technology advancing at an astonishing rate over the past few decades, but our own minds are still the most complex machines that we know of. Even 100 years from now we still might not be able to surpass what nature itself has made. Songs like ‘Kerosene’ make me look at music in much the same way. Hearing LA based artist Rett Madison’s vocals on this track, it strikes me that even after centuries of work from skilled craftsmen and artists we are yet to make an instrument to equal the human voice. Rett’s voice is the centrepiece of this track, and with it we are gifted with a gentle and charming country twang alongside stunning soulful crescendos. Between the pain, doubt and vulnerability you can feel in your very heart in the song’s softer moments, and the defiant, passionate force-of-nature chorus that fills the room, you’re left feeling caught in a maelstrom of emotion being dragged deeper with each listen. I can’t think of any instrument made by human hands that can do all that, can make you feel all that, but an incredible voice at the disposal of a supremely talented artist can do all kinds of miraculous things beyond our understanding.
Belwood Music 