Hey…are you in need of a feel good song? Look no further than AZA BROWN’s new track, For Real?, released March 4th 2022.
This song is just attention grabbing from the start. A real feel good British pop/rock song with an almost rock ’n’ roll feel to it. This song has it all, and is authentically reaching out to its listener to step away from the rat race! The best advice ever!
The vocals are doubled most of the way through, occasionally in unison and occasionally in harmony. The style put me in mind of Crowded House, but with a little touch of the Housemartins in the lead vocalists voice.
The bassline is awesome. Really interesting, melody driven choices of notes. No root note playing here. This is funky stuff that sits well with the drums and drives the song along, almost forcing you to get up and dance.
I’m a sucker for a good horn section and this song ticked that box too.
This is through and through, positive, follow your heart inspirational music. Almost anti-establishment, but honestly, just a really encouraging song to the listener to step off the hamster wheel.
To my mind, “For Real?” is just a little let down by the production on the vocal track. I can hear Aza Brown is an excellent singer, but there are places where the vocals are lost in the mix. I found this to be especially the case in the busier sections; chorus and wherever the horn section is involved. The horns seemed to be competing for the same space in the mix and it just felt slightly to the detriment of the vocals. A shame, because I can hear he’s got some real swagger in his voice.
I’d suggest more compression on the vocal track and a boost in the top 3 octaves to bring a little more clarity.
There’s also a peaking frequency on the bass guitar at 2 minutes 40s where its just a little too much at 196Hz.
This song had us all just dancing. There’s no two ways about it. For Real? is a call to action to live your life and not to be the cog in the machine. I love it.
We give this song four ears out of five
