Normally, I don't go for anything that features a lead singer who isn't playing an instrument, but I'll make an exception for vocals like this.
Hailing from Missouri, alternative singer/songwriter Al'Michael presents us with a great first single off his upcoming debut EP Head VS Heart (to be released January 2014).
The composition features acoustic tracks intermixed with electronic tracks and an ever constant back beat that solidly places both feet in the pop genre. With his rich, soulful vocals added to a pop instrumentation which we have far too long associated with weak vocals and sugary lyrics, Al'Michael's single, "Fire to Myself", offers a new outlook on the pop genre.
Honest lyrics state "the moon and the stars and the sky, seem more touchable to me than you are", "I stay awake at night, talking to my mind" and "I barely understand myself, do you know what that feels like when happiness is loneliness, 'cause that's the only thing that feels right" with a chorus that blatantly admits "I don't want to live this way anymore" while an electric guitar, solid back beats, and a simple piano melody seamlessly come together to create a composition that just feels right. An unabashedly emotional ending that features the repetition of "catch me if I fall" fading out to that simple piano melody overlaid with "I don't wanna be this way, I want things to change" before coming to an abrupt end has me excited to see what Al'Michael comes out with next.
You can grab this single and another single, "Where Were You", on iTunes now.
"Fire to Myself" Al'Michael
