We think too much then we're gonna get caught

(I know a lot of people might be inclined to skip over this post because of who the artist is, but really, please give the song a try.)

Can I confess something? I never got around to listening to Ryan Cabrera's last album. Yes, I read Paul and Thnairg's reviews of it with interest, and yes, I've written about him--music I liked from his first album, bizarre styling choices I didn't--a pretty fair bit, but I was so frustrated with "Say," a song with a BRILLIANT verse, bridge, and middle 8 that I felt was completely let down by the beginning of the chorus, as well as a bit turned off by what I thought the styling change implied--the usual teen pop-artist-goes-serious-musician and forgets all about actually bringing good songs with them--that I just never made the effort to listen to anything besides "Say."

I hadn't thought about that album, The Moon Under Water, at all again until I was catching up on posts I missed while I was away. Poptext is such a well-written blog that, even when I don't agree, I'm interested in what Abby has to say...meaning that, though I feared the worst when I saw a picture of Ryan (I may not have properly listened to his second album or--at that point--listened to any of his third beyond one song, but I genuinely enjoy multiple songs from his first), I went ahead and read the post anyway. I really recommend doing the same, but, just in case people won't click over, I had to write something about she was talking about anyway.



(You don't have to watch the video, but I know that sometimes people are more likely to listen to a song if doing so is one click away, as opposed to the couple of clicks it'd take to listen to it via SpeedyShare--and I really want people to hear this.)

Enemies

Wow. I know I just used the word "brilliant" up above, but I really have to use it again: brilliant. Who knew there was something this...synthy on his album? Sparkling synth-(pop-)rock, to be more specific, a little '80's but also '00's. If Ryan failed to deliver that killer chorus on "Say," he doesn't here: that opening line that gives the song its title as well as the "well keep your hands up so I can see 'em" (love that line) are a perfect explosion, the kind of thing that makes me think of a mob of hipster-styled kids with their hands in the air, jumping up and down in a half-dark club as the lights flash in slow motion. It's even got that divine-if-often-used middle 8 technique of going all quiet, submerging the voice in an eye-of-the-storm music moment before finally building to a final, more powerful than ever go-round of the chorus.

This is the sort of song I've been listening to on repeat for most of today, the sort of song that I've been just bubbling over to write about since I first heard it, to write about and share because really, more people need to hear this song. And that's a pretty rare and special thing. Now, where's my list of the contenders for my favorite singles of 2008...?

To buy Ryan Cabrera's third album The Mood Under Water, go here (physical).

Next up: maybe that post about demos. Or, you know, not.