Here at the Send Me Your Ears studio today, we’ve been listening to Carley Varley’s latest single, Somehow I’m Alive, released on January 13, 2023.
We reviewed Carley’s single, Shore, in 2022. Shore is a ukulele-based, bouncy song which oozes positivity. Somehow I’m Alive displays some remarkable versatility and impressed the hell out of all of us here at Send Me Your Ears.
The song fades in gently with electronic instruments and then quickly moves into a very kick-drum-heavy section. The track develops with some extra percussion and more electronic instruments. The drums here are extremely creative with some gloriously delicate touches.
As you move into the chorus, the song takes on a more powerful and grungey tone, with heavy rock guitars and Carley’s voice belting strongly over the top. Somehow I’m Alive is a track focusing on the feeling of anxiety. The track highlights the feeling of being trapped and overcome with negative thoughts that constantly pester your mind. Carley throws everything she’s got at the vocals in this track and her passion is reminiscent of Amy Lee (Evanescence) in the stronger sections, with a touch of Avril Lavinge in the more gentle moments.
The rise and fall in this track is an exhilarating ride. Carley makes superb use of different sections and effects to maintain the listeners’ attention right until the very last second. The stinger ending leaves you wanting more, and we hit replay, thrilled at the versatility shown by this highly talented British singer-songwriter.
Somehow I’m Alive feels like a female-fronted Linkin Park song. With some truly exciting genre-crossing moments of electronic instrumentation and heavy guitars, this is an extremely creative piece of music, worthy of playlisting on any rock charts.
Ideas from our ears
To our ears, a careful boost around 140Hz and a small but wide boost right across the mids centred around 1kHz would add some extra thickness and fullness to the sound of the track. As always, these are just some ideas from our ears.
Final thoughts
We already loved Carley Varley, but her latest track, Somehow I’m Alive, has pulled us in deeper and left a lasting impression on us. For fans of Linkin Park, Evanescence and Paramore.