Written on the floor of her new house, ‘High Note’ by New Jersey indie-folk / country-pop artist Kennedy Shaw reflects on a past love, capturing the moment you recognise how far you have come while still feeling the pull of what once was.
The song opens with a fluttering sound that feels really organic. Kennedy’s vocal shines through, with strong inflexions and effective use of FX, widening the vocal but keeping its intimacy.
It’s a simple arrangement. Sparse at first – mainly just guitar and vocal – but there are lots of little touches that make the song feel rich and intricate. There are squeaks of guitar and the textured throb of the bass – it’s all gratifyingly tactile and alive.
I’ll ask the bass line to spell it out right now
Turn the music up and push the feeling down
As the song progresses, Kennedy’s vocal is like a velvet blanket – wrapping the song in a smooth warmth. Almost a hushed tone in the verses, when she sings “high note”, it becomes an angelic sound – floating up to the clouds.
The emotion of the lyrics is portrayed really effectively – there’s a yearning curiosity & wonder in the way Kennedy sings, and the lyrics tell this simple story in an unpretentious, down-to-earth way – but with some clever turns of phrase:
A hill worth climbing
Isn’t always meant to die on
At halfway, drums subtly appear – with their own little touches and surprises.
Awash with rides & layered vocals for the final section, it feels like we’re ascending higher and higher as distortion starts to blur the lines and everything retreats into the distance.
When a song has a title like ‘High Note’, it has to deliver – luckily for us, this one does.
Written by Grubby
