Leah Rye - “The Observer”
“The Observer” is the latest single by Netherlands-based artist Leah Rye. The track is a mesmerising indie pop tune that reminds me of the type of songs that used to be around in the 1990s.
A driving, solid drum groove forms the backbone of this song, pushing it forward at a nice pace. Acoustic guitar forms the main musical texture at the beginning. As the song progresses, a dark sounding electronic piano begins to pad the song. The sound has a nice tremolo effect that makes the sound addictively roll over the drum groove. The music is also given a nice pulsing bass as this element is introduced.
Two dynamic breaks are used to give the listener a brief pause before launching into the chorus sections. These sections are filled with breathy vocals and a riser effect, pulling us back into the drum groove. The chorus sections introduce a really great vocal melody that has an arpeggiating synth dancing around it. These sections will have you singing along after a few plays. I also like the familiarity of the vocal melodies here. As the song comes to a conclusion, more unusual noises start to take centre stage before gradually fading back to acoustic guitar.
Leah’s vocal performance in “The Observer” is faultless and evokes a sense of mystery. This is aided nicely by the excellent use of delay effects. Her singing conveys the song’s lyrics with a serious but soft and passionate tone. Backing vocals give the song width and really enhance the main chorus sections.
Leah Rye’s “The Observer” is a great indie pop song. The production is superb and it is filled with great sonic textures. This is not one to miss.