This review covers the drum n bass track Pedestrian – Hoyle Road (SpectraSoul Remix).
This track was released in 2013 along with three other versions.
We’ll preface this review by saying that we never heard the original mix, but instead, only heard the remix. Without any knowledge of what the original mix was like, we pegged this track as having either deep house or ambient roots (more likely the former). A little research later, it turns out that the first guess was correct, but can totally see an ambient or downtempo version of this track being possible.
As one can figure from our initial guesswork, this track takes on a very relaxed tone. It contains minimalistic elements that puts the emphasis on setting a gently pushed mood rather than simply pushing raw high energy emotion. This is something that this track does do quite successfully.
One way this track successfully gently prods you into an emotion is through the vocals and lyrics. The vocals could be described as a cross between clear whispering and intelligible mutter sung at some higher notes. The lyrics add to this emotion in that they discuss the passage of time and how it’s just going by while the viewer just watches on. A strength in the vocals is the added delay and reverberation effects which help it sound more like it is wafting in and out. This only enhances the chilled out effect of the vocals. A downside to the vocals is the fact that it can be hard to understand some of the lyrics from time to time. In this case, it’s not a hugely detrimental effect, but some meaning does get lost in the process.
The bassline is held back by quite a lot, only seemingly making an appearance on the lowest end of the spectrum. Given the mood being set in this track, this seems appropriate as it has a very soft sound to it. The melody is mostly left to long chords. Like the bassline, it is held back by quite a bit to keep the track on the softer end of things. There is an additiional synth or two that adds some variety to the track, but don’t take up too much audio space.
Overall, this was a pretty good track. If you want something to chill out to, you could do a whole lot worse than with this track. The vocals are good in setting a mood, but some of the lyrics end up getting lost. The synths used are quite soft and keep with the more minimalistic sound. So, a pretty good track, though only for chilling out to more than anything else.
Score
7/10
Drew Wilson on Twitter: @icecube85 and Google+.
