Single Review: Breathe

Mitch Alderlieste’s latest release is a light airy piece, that follows along the lines of Travis’ Why Does It Always Rain On Me? And Robbie William’s Angels. A slowly sung tune with a lot of lyrical repetition, that adds to the ease with which the audience can sing along; even someone completely unaware of the song could sing along by the end of the track. Alderlieste displays great vocal control on this delicate acoustic track, where there are no loud obtrusive instruments to hide behind; you feel the full presence of his voice.

The instrumentation side is mostly covered by the acoustic guitar, and very minimal drum beats, but as the song progresses, keys start to subtly fill the voids and silence throughout the track. It creates a feeling of fragility and brittleness, that mirrors the emotional context of the lyrics. This combines with a slight echoing effect on Alderlieste’s voice, which gives the effect of performing in an empty concert hall.

An interesting choice for a summer release, with the mentioning of “tears”, “falls”, and the riff structure of the acoustic guitar and pitter patter of the keys, giving the track more of a wintery, rainy feel. This is, however, a re-recording of an old song from 2014, so it may have come down to being the only opportunity to release it, rather than specifically choosing it to be a summer release. Regardless, a beautiful song.

_{Review written by Alex Moulton}