Music Existence Because of Music, We Exist
“Can’t sit still for two seconds / Can’t sleep for more than two hours / I might be insane,” asks Mateo Briscoe in one of the more memorable junctures of his new single “Insane,” his vocal interwoven with the fabric of the background melody seamlessly. Briscoe’s voice is in top form here, and though he hasn’t been known to bring anything but his A-game to the studio before now, he presents us with what might be some of his most cutting work to date in this latest release. Supported by a gorgeous instrumental foundation that warms us to his poetry like nothing else could have, this singer/songwriter makes a track that both puritan dark folk fans and casual observers can get into just the same.
Compared to past songs bearing his moniker, “Insane” is a lot more liberal with Mateo Briscoe’s skillset, exposing aspects of his singing style that were somewhat obscured by the grandiosity of the music. He approaches the fever pitch of the track with a swagger that just wasn’t present in previous works and though he comes dangerously close to overpowering the backing band, the even-keeled mixing makes sure that we’re able to appreciate all of the different elements in the song without feeling pulled in a thousand different directions.
Briscoe doesn’t want to rest on his laurels in this latest studio cut; if anything, I think he’s trying to push himself further than he has in the past year in hopes of being a more mature and accessible singer in every way that matters.
Instrumentally, I love the complexities that “Insane” contains, and through the meticulousness of the arrangement here, there’s scarcely a moment where it sounds as though too many pieces are being thrust together in a single harmony. In the past few years, minimalism has inarguably been all the rage in this genre of music, but Mateo Briscoe is darting away from the trend altogether in this song. He doesn’t appear to have any place for stripping down parts of his sound that could otherwise be made into the essential ingredients of an earth-shaking anthem, and whether the mainstream press embraces his formula or not, I think his success on the underground side of the dial speaks for itself.
I’ve been a fan of Mateo Briscoe’s for quite some time now, and this most recent release is by far the most impressive addition he’s made to his discography in the last year. He’s coming into his own as a songwriter and finding new and exciting ways of getting a point across to us, even if it means getting out of his comfort zone, which isn’t something I’ve been able to say about a lot of his major label rivals in the last half-decade. Briscoe isn’t dropping a world-changing composition on us in “Insane,” but if there’s one thing that he is doing, it’s verifying both his authenticity as a performer as well as his potential as a singer/songwriter with vocal talents well above what most would consider the status quo.
Vera Mitchell
