With “This Place,” the brand new single from buzzworthy pop
singer Angelo David, the Boston-born vocalist invites us into his heart to stay
and makes a strong case to support his high-ranking spot in the modern indie
music hierarchy. “This Place” starts out simply enough with a fifteen second
intro that is riddled with a mind-bender of a melody that unfolds into a
club-style template for David to make his own. It doesn’t take long for him to
sink his teeth into the words, which are reflective but suggest an optimism
that is fleeting, if not almost too divine to be contained.
“This Place” lacks any of the aggression that
has become commonplace in similarly designed indie pop songs, but that
shouldn’t imply that it isn’t capable of delivering its signature grooves
without a struggle. David takes his time building up a cinematic tone in the
opening verses before totally coming undone in the chorus, which swings like a
pendulum and careens into almost anything that gets in its path. The execution
is spot-on and not rushed in the least; I get the idea that David knew exactly
what he wanted to do with this single and made sure that every detail was up to
par before giving it the okay for release.
The amount of care put into the production is
more than evident even when taking a small glimpse at the meaty mix of the
chorus. From the get-go these levels are clearly defined, but in the song’s
climax we really feel the full force of the bass as it’s meant to be heard in a
live setting. Overwhelming might be putting it mildly, and though the cranked
volume comes out of nowhere and has no qualms with slapping us hard with a
melodicism that is emotional and empowering, the transition is much smoother
than one might expect.
Angelo David bears it all to us in “This
Place,” and he doesn’t project even a hint of uneasiness in any portion of the
track. His lyrics are steeped in soul-searching, at some points even feeling
more like a diary entry than standard pop prose, and there’s never any question
as to whether or not he’s being himself with us. He’s got no problem exposing
his innermost thoughts to the world around him, which in itself is an inspiring
quality for any person to have, but all the more essential when starting a serious
career in pop music.
Whether you’re a hardcore Top 40 consumer or
not is irrelevant when discussing “This Place” and the collective releases of
Angelo David to date. His music is produced with top shelf technique that
doesn’t exactly fall into every young singer’s lap, and through all of the
excitement that he’s been creating with singles like this one and videos like
the incredibly powerful “House is Burning Down” and “Mirror,” he’s maintained
an candid, easygoing attitude that speaks volumes about his creative identity
and barebones character. “This Place” is absolutely a worthy acquisition if
you’re in the market for authentic grooves to start off 2019 with, and honestly
I’m very eager to hear what David does with this awesome sound next.
Joshua Beach
