“Reckless” by Imelda Gabs is absolutely haunting. The delicate piano accompaniment forms the foundation for one of the most heart-wrenching vocal performances you’ll ever hear. Imelda sculpts a moving melody with her raspy, powerful voice, proving that sometimes when an artist is this naturally gifted, a track doesn’t need a lot of bells and whistles to be incredible.
A wall of strings and woodwinds fades in. Imelda’s voice tumbles through a few evocative runs. A subtle chime of piano sparks the verse: “I’ve seen it all fall down / You’ve got the devil’s eyes.” Imelda almost whispers these words. Her voice trembles with a deep, warm emotionality. She continues in this subdued manner for a while, forming the bedrock for an immense upheaval.
A swell of bass ushers in this anthemic outpouring of emotion. Imelda wails, letting the idiosyncrasies in her voice pierce through the mix, “I don’t know what is wrong / Don’t know where I belong.” You can tell she has immense control of her pitch and tone. The words she decides to sprinkle with grit take on a different kind of intensity.
As the song winds down, we’re gifted with small pauses in the instrumentation to allow Imelda to deescalate the force behind her vocals. She transitions to a twinkly head voice, which culminates in a tear-jerker of an ending. If you haven’t stopped in your tracks by this point, you probably weren’t paying enough attention. As far as ballads go, “Reckless” embodies the heart of slow, sentimental musicality. Don’t miss out on this brilliant song.
Written by Alyce Lindberg
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