Crowded Shoulders - Help!
Yo yo yo! What’s up? Thanks for stopping by. I know it’s been a minute. I’ve got quite the review for you today. A trippy tale of love lost and longed for, complete with musical riffs and lyrical tiffs alike. So sit down, relax, and take a load off. I’m ‘bout to hit you with crowded shoulders.
crowded shoulders, an up and coming Jersey-bred band, has recently lightened their arsenal a bit with their brand new single, “Help!,” and I’m totally vibin’ it. A super trippy, cooler than cool revision of the 1965 hit from The Beatles, this track will make you want to put it on repeat, walk across the room, and glue yourself to the couch. It’s definitely a trip. And I have to mention, the mixture of sounds from instruments and EQ’s alike make this song sound like something straight outta the nineties. From the punky, Green Day style bass, to the Nirvana style ambiance, all the way to the laid back, slow moving vocals this song sounds like it should have been released 25 years ago, and that’s awesome.
“Help!” Starts out with this fun, punky, bouncy moving bass line and a steady swingin’ drum beat featuring brush sticks that keep the time and hold down the rhythm fort. The groove is set, it’s chilled to the bone, and I’m eager for what’s coming next.
Then we’re met with some steady strumming, bright, yet pleasantly mellow sounding guitars. I must credit the mix here in that the guitars are a nice medley of shimmery and smooth which the compliments rhythm section like bread and butter. Are we making music or lunch here?
Then the verse hits. We have a noticeable groove change here as the bass cuts to halftime, the guitars ease back on the strumming, and we are finally introduced to the vocals. A tasteful brew of grungey and smooth, in sort of a rough crooning style, the voices delicately deliver the message and vibe of the tune. And when the harmonies hit, they coat the atmosphere and blend with the lead voice like thick vapor filling a room.
The pre-chorus follows the verse quite appropriately in the way it brings the emotion up. Whereas the verse was slow moving and easy, the pre-chorus shifts to a darker sound complete with drum fills, atmospheric pads, and a dreary church bell that pokes through and pulls at your heartstrings like a fish on a line. This is the part in the song where you know you’ve gone too far to swipe left. Feelings, let’s go all in!
And finally we have the long awaited, skillfully crafted delivery of the refrain: “Please, please help me.” Each time it hits, I can hear the distraught desire in the singer’s delivery. Man, he must be feeling terrible. Will somebody please help this man?!
Overall this version of the tune really does the song justice in my opinion. Growing up, I hadn’t had much exposure to The Beatles, and hearing this chilled out arrangement really did it for me personally. I feel that an important mention is how I noticed many of the sounds in this recording give off a vibe of the nineties. I’ve noticed this with much of the newer music coming around nowadays, and as someone who grew up in the nineties, and is heavily influenced by it, I’m super excited for what’s in store in the music universe. The musiverse?
To hear “Help” and more from crowded shoulders:
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-Mike Oregano 🌿
Oregano Entertainment Network, Oregano Records
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