On Freaked, the vocal of Victor Longato is placed in that processed room – where it is not smoothed out but it is edited and has weight. It is pushed by the Jersey Club beat, the percussion that will not give in. Reminds me of what Kelela was doing some years ago but with a more pop-facing sound and less experimental.
This is the thing with the melody that it switches between phrases performed in staccato and longer sustained notes. Ghosting, digital anxiety, all that, works with the lyrical content, but he does not push it. The hook is repeated enough, the hook is repeated to the point of infiltration, very K-pop in its construction, in fact. Infectious in such a calculated manner.
Instrumentation is characterized by a mix of electronic content, violent textures superimposed on a smoother layer that has synth pads. The production is packed, yet it does not seem congested. Everything has space even in cases where several elements are taking place at the same time. That immediate readiness or near panic in the rhythm section- kicks and snares programmed tight, very club oriented- keeps the emotional whirlwind he is describing not standing still.
This pre-chorus part has a bit of stripping back and then it leads to the hook. It took me a couple of listens to realize how the vocal in the song overlays there, a bunch of harmonies overlaid with each other as compared to the verses. The bridge draws off further than I recalled, then there is only bass and vocal a beat or two and then back it all comes.
It is his first one, a song in a series of some new EP that he is calling Sensory Overload or whatever. Makes sense, as intro–not rough enough to demonstrate that he is competent but not so smooth that he is not doing reconnaissance. The queer vision is evident in the particularity of the anxiety he is explaining, quite present in how it takes up the confusion of dating via apps. The sci-fi soundtrack effect works. Is not too retro, does not hypotheticalize the future. Just dwells in this present moment quite well.
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