Salt Lake City-based indie singer-songwriter Josaleigh Pollett and long-time Japan-based collaborator Jordan Watko reunited – long distance – to produce their first new music since 2023.
‘Radio Player’ is a song about memory and fear, and was loosely inspired by the movie Poltergeist. Indeed, there is an eerie, slightly menacing feeling as the song starts. An extended intro begins with a heartbeat kick as strange, ghostly sounds echo and swirl around us.
Josaleigh’s vocal comes in crisp and clear, close and intimate. I loved the tone of the vocal, and thought that when the melody reached up high, I could hear a quiet unease – a fragility born of fear..
It’s a great buildup, and the tension continues to rise with a shuffling beat and pitch-bending sounds.
This song sneaks up on you – slowly taking you deeper down – down into its world. The volume builds, and the walls feel like they are closing in. There is great use of light and shade, and just as it becomes too much to bear, things break down and we are released – for now.
Each section brings new sounds and new textures. Acoustic and electronic. It’s disorienting in the best way. There’s a delicate melody, and in the quieter moments it shines through. Distant voices reach out from the void.
“I told you that I saw a ghost
I just need you to believe me”
‘Radio Player’ is a wonderfully atmospheric and captivating track that takes you on a journey right to the edge of somewhere scary and unknown.
Written by Grubby
