Modern musicians often wear their electronics like a suit of armor; when we take away the layers & lay it all out there, there are very few who’s pure form would hold up. These sentiments help make Adrian Keats’ ‘Running With The Devil’ impressive for not only its writing, but it’s impassioned performance – the heart & soul pours out of every inflection, every understated hum of the speaker.
Without question, the most standout aspect of this track is Keats’ rough-but-honest vocals, which encases the listener in a storm-on-the-horizon ambience; a sentiment that rings heavy for many right now. From the outset, an opening melody strikes as particularly enchanting – a chromatic descent sitting over a two-chord, major key strum of an acoustic guitar. These sorts of jazz undertones run throughout, with vocalizations chalk full of melodic, stream-of-conscious style lyrical inflections that could play just as well on an expressive piano or wind instrument. After the second verse, we are greeted with the addition of an absolutely fantastic lead saxophone – it leaves one to imagine: ‘what if Clarence Clemons stopped by Bruce Springsteen’s original Nebraska sessions‘ – a high question invoked, to be certain.
This composition feels to be pulled directly from the ether; a true divination from the Goddesses & Gods – or, perhaps, from the other side of the other side. Follow Adrian Keats in all his further adventures:
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