Something that I love about alternative/art rock is the songwriting. Seriously, I think that many alt rock musicians definitely flex their songwriting prowess and show us as an audience how to interpret a story, whether directly or indirectly. I mention this because the songwriting is one of the main highlights for Ubiquity Machine’s new song, “Hey You
Musically, this is an interesting one! We start with a sick drum break and some words that are reversed. I love that detail, just because it feels like something you don’t hear many other rock artists doing anymore. To me, it signifies the importance of the story. Beyond things sounding cool, it catches your ear, and sets you up for the story possibly being a loop.
Lyrically, this is super strong! This is a song with a story in it. This is about a girl who lived in North Dakota but had some big dreams ahead of her. However, her life seemed to be in disarray as her dad left her mother because she [the mother] was cold. Speaking of cold, she wanted to move to California to soak up the sun, but she’d be alone out there.
I think that this is a dope approach to the story! From this point in the song before the chorus hits, we know that the girl wants to go to California where it’s much warmer, but she’s nervous about being alone. However, they also talked about her mom being cold, and I think that we can infer that she wants to get away from her mother in order to grow and hit her full potential.
Something else that I really loved is the chorus. The singer sings, “Hey you”, but there’s also a backing effect that sounds almost… morose. It sounds like someone reaching out and telling this girl, “You should follow your dreams, because if you don’t… you just fade away.” I love that detail so much, and it honestly shows why Ubiquity Machine have been around for as long as they have!
This song was insanely enjoyable. It’s so good that I don’t want to spoil anything for you all. The ending of this song is so damn good and you don’t expect it at all. I don’t want to keep you waiting, go check out, “Hey You” by Ubiquity Machine!
Written by Marcus Norris
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