Toronto artist, Elias James, has just released his third single, Low Key Crazy, and we’ve been taking a listen here at the Send Me Your Ears studio today.
Low Key Crazy is a great, modern country/pop song with a fantastic hook and a real “join in” feel to the choruses.
From the moment the song starts, you know you’re in for a great ride. With superbly played panned guitars left and right, the song feels an instant hit.
Elias’ vocals sit comfortably with a superb country twang in them. Occasional backing vocals help add a bit of extra punch in places, and the echoed use of the word “crazy” in the choruses just makes you want to join in! This is proper road trip music.
Low Key Crazy is a confession; a man trying to play it cool with his new significant other, but failing, whilst trying to hide behind a masculine front. It has an almost “Jack and Diane” (John Cougar Mellencamp) feel to it with a comfortable and recognisable chord sequence and some great use of the kinds of instrumentation you’d find in a country song, but with a few twists that make it feel just a touch more crossover pop and modern feeling.
We must give kudos to some rather spectacular bass riffs in Low Key Crazy. This is a talented player who has gone far beyond what is expected of a bassist in a country song.
From a production perspective, it feels like there is a slightly dominant frequency in the bass around 174Hz (F) which is particularly noticeable during the intro. Once the full drum track comes in, it mixes better with the frequency of the snare. Other than that, the overall production is top quality in our opinion. Everything is clear and each instrument has its own place within the track.
With a catchy chorus and a stinger ending, this song at just over 2 and a half minutes has ticked just about every single box to make this a hit. We’d suggest Canadian college radio and country internet radio across North America will be a great avenue for this track.