shut up and listen

The track begins with a slow fade in of what seems like crickets or night insects but upon closer listening is actually some sort of synth effect I suspect. Soaked in reverb and pushed back in the mix it sits under a steel string acoustic guitar that plucks out sudden figures on the left and a medium delay repeats on the right. Stabs of electric guitar chords are also delayed but they start on the right and repeat on the left. A low murky bass guitar joins in with intermittent notes.

A rhythm begins with some kind of tapping/thumping with a delay, and a harmonica arrives before the bass and guitars begin the main pattern. When the harmonica appears again it has more reverb/delay pushing it back in the mix. The acoustic is close miked (you can hear the squeak of the frets in the chord changes.) The acoustic on the left is more up front in the mix than the electric guitar on the right.

The vocal arrives, sung in a croaky, throaty and surging style. It feels close and intimate, due no doubt to EQ and compression, allowing the words that are almost whispered to still remain audible and clear over the top of the instruments. There is a slight reverb on the vocal that doesn’t inhibit the intimacy.

In between verses there is a subtle keys tinkling, way back in the mix, and later some strings add to the backing. The strings remain for the third verse and build in the final chorus.