Single Review: Perspective

Brodie MacDonald of Splendid perfectly nails the indie vocal sound on her new single Perspective. The production is sweet, spacious, and snappy, and there is a real maturity to the track. Lyrically poignant, musically pleasing, and sonically balanced, Perspective bursts confidently into pop territory, puts its feet up on the table, and chews a piece of gum like, what?

It has a certain sense of nostalgia to it that makes it feel like it’s been around for a long time. And, in fact, it has. It was initially written in MacDonald’s teens, to be resurrected, dusted off, and refined many years later. 

At 2:44 long, this compact little bite-sized track packs a lot of goodness in. Taking you from a soulful moody intro, into a spacious pre-chorus, then busting into a catchy pop beat in the chorus. I love the warped guitar tones in the outro, with the slides and bends creating a moody soundscape that blends perfectly with the electronic elements. And there is lots of delicious vocal layering throughout, with vocal elements being seemingly favoured over adding more instrumentation. It has all been exceptionally well done, and is a very cool little number.

Having listened now to Splendid’s 2021 EP All the Things I Shouldn’t Say Out Loud I feel like I have discovered a hidden gem. Splendid’s voice is absolutely gorgeous. I hear the likes of Brooke Fraser and Julia Deans in her tones. And her songwriting has that very special quality to it; that authentic creativity that bravely shows itself without fear of how it will be perceived because it just needs to exist and it is what it is. Really vulnerable and beautiful.

Perspective feels like a new direction for 2023 and I’m delighted to have discovered this artist. I hope that the track does really well, as I could hear this played on any mainstream station.