Music Existence Because of Music, We Exist
A mere three minutes and change isn’t very long to present a full-color palate of what your artistry is comprised of, but for America’s Sweetheart in the new single “Face to Face,” they make this task sound pretty easy if I do say so myself. “Face to Face” unfolds with a sluggishness that initially seems to imply hesitation, but as we carry forth with the pendulous beat we discover that even the slow-rolling tempo of the beat is working towards a lush catharsis on the other side of the chorus. This is a single built around and atop its own moodiness, and it’s one of the more compelling examples of progressive pop songwriting I’ve found on my own recently.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmericasSweet12
“Face to Face” features several climactic points that don’t come undone as much as they come into focus with a reticence I would describe as adorable were it not boasting such a painful ache in its adjoining verses. There’s something brutally brooding about the subtext of the lyrical narrative here that the video only somewhat alludes to, but I don’t see this as an example of indulgently enigmatic songwriting. On the contrary, this is multi-interpretive indie rock at its finest.
America’s Sweetheart have a lot to prove if they’re going to roll with the elites in this genre of music in 2021, but for what they turn in with “Face to Face,” I think they deserve to be credited with submitting a single and music video far more immersive than anything the mainstream has done in a while. Even without external influences, there’s a futuristic component to “Face to Face” that says this group is nowhere near their creative peak; they’re working towards it, but from what I can see they’ve still got a lot of ground to cover in what’s been an amazing campaign so far.
David Lee Marshall
