B.L.Y. by Dalaina is equally as sunny and bright as it is audacious. The accompaniment is beautifully listless–guitars sometimes echoing a spacy legato and other times an upbeat, ghost-note-filled rhythm. Drums and bass carry the beat along without unnecessary complexity, and while the melody sounds cheerful, the lyrics tell a different story. The singer harps on a past love interest’s ill-conceived pursuit to get them back. The lighthearted sound paired with the nervy lyrical content creates an intoxicating dynamic.
The production on this track is pretty clean and simple most of the time, but there are a few clever maneuvers that enhance the sound. The vocals are layered and panned in such a way that they sound full without feeling overproduced or too affected. The consonants in each word are crisp, precise, and unobtrusive. An occasional wash of echo or reverb adds interest to some words, but overall the vocal production is sneakily and brilliantly straightforward. Parts of the instrumentation also strengthen the atmosphere of the song. During the bridge, the guitar sprinkles some tasteful licks, small solos, and ad-libs that not only sound great but catalyze the trajectory of the song itself.
There’s a genius to the lyrics of this track that you wouldn’t notice upon first listen. The meaning is fairly unambiguous. It’s clear the singer is rejecting someone’s advances. However, that’s not what’s clever about this–it’s the way the sound of each word falls in lock-step with the melody. The rhythm of the phrases sounds instinctive. The songwriter is clearly experienced or is at least naturally gifted with language. The line, “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out,” uses words almost like percussion, making the consonants almost mirror what is being said in the line. Moments like this are what make this song an interesting, relaxing, pleasurable listen.
Written by Alyce Lindberg
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