Welcome all to ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ป๐ผ๐น๐น๐โ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly - an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of ๐๐๐ฌ ๐ผ๐ง๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ ๐๐ฅ๐ค๐ฉ๐ก๐๐๐๐ฉ playlists.
๐ฟ๐ค๐ฃโ๐ฉ ๐ฝ๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐ฎ ๐๐๐๐ง๐ฉ - ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ค๐ฃ ๐๐๐พ๐๐ง๐ฉ๐๐ฎ
Charles confessesโฆ
I feel immense guilt. I feel I have a confession to make. I feel I have done wrong. Love is, and will always be, the overriding force for us all. Even compared with money and addiction. To survive, we need love like we need money. Love can also be an addiction all of its own. But I feel I have blundered my way through all that and ruined all that was hope for the future. I have broken the heart of the only one truly dear to me. Or so, this is how Peyton McCarthy made me feel with her single, Donโt Break My Heart (importantly the Radio Remix). Here, she shows us that love can be painful.
It is hazy. The lights are dim yet warm. The lens is soft. The bed remains unmade. Clustered love letters and whimsical doodles lay strewn haphazardly on the carpet. A girl sits motionless on the floor, her back against the wall. She looks up - it is Peyton. And so her story begins. A personal and honest voice brings us closer as she opens her heart to us all. So far, weโre stripped back to an acoustic dryness, barely adorned, but with a sense of things to come. Peyton is but the tender age of 16, yet comes across as having had quite the measure of experience, both in singing and in love. She loves a boy. A boy who is occasionally around and who has either pretended to love her in the same way, or has tried to make himself believe in love, with little success. Having initially been blinded by love, Peyton starts to see through it as his heart slips away. Hers however, remains firmly in place.
A cymbal rolls us into phase two as a lead guitar line wavers on top. Our singer realises how much she has done for him, out of pure and natural loving instinct. The cinematic soundscape takes hold. The reassuring chords of the newly introduced piano ground the chorus, while subtle strings fill the spectrum with warm air. She knows he will break her heart, whether he means to or not.
We are back in her bedroom, seeing scenes from their past. Laughing and chatting together on the sofa, watching pointless tv as her head rests on his shoulder. That feeling when all is at peace and nothing can ever go wrong or even change. But it does inevitably, change. The once new paint starts to peel. The once bright candle gutters with a kiss of smoke. The unimprovable images of the past shatter on concrete reality like frozen feathers. Peyton wipes a tear, puts down the guitar and bravely rows a cello out to sea. The loss and lack of love has somehow made her stronger, bolder and more independent. She doesnโt need him anymore. She doesnโt WANT him anymore. She has accepted it. This is shown by her voice having at this point taken on an almost Aguilera-meets-Adele strength with magnificent power. The strings are now more present than ever, with a fully orchestral backing. The effect is stupendous!
The bridge brings us the true voice of a confident and experienced woman. The scene is larger than life. The production is epic and seamless. Peyton shows us she is worthy of more, both in love and in success, and there is frankly nothing stopping her. Finally, the orchestra is whisked away and we are back one last time in her bedroom. It is however utterly bare, save for a baby grand and Peyton herself. She has come to terms with having lost her love, or maybe never having found it, and the scene fades to black.
THIS, is how a ballad should be. I really do expect to hear more greatness from Peyton McCarthy soon.
Donโt break my heart? As I wipe my eyes, I realise she has certainly broken mine.
Listen to ๐ฟ๐ค๐ฃโ๐ฉ ๐ฝ๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐ฎ ๐๐๐๐ง๐ฉ (Radio Remix) HERE!
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