Here at the Send Me Your Ears studio we’ve been listening to I Panic’s latest single, (Welcome To The Night Of) Broken Promises. I Panic is a Dutch artist. We’ve previously reviewed his track, Can’t Imagine, and were very impressed with the promise he showed as a songwriter so we were excited to see his name reach the top of our reviews pile today.
(Welcome To The Night Of) Broken Promises tells the relatable story of two people meeting one more time after one of them ended the relationship, and a night full of broken promises that follow, doing things you told yourself you would never do again.
Once again keeping us on our toes, Broken Promises starts with a heavy rock drum fill which leads into a much more 80s pop-feeling bright and positive sound with a piano leading the way and a 16-beat tambourine pushing the rhythm. Just when you think you know where the song is headed, everything drops back to a darker feeling verse with I Panic’s vocals taking on a Bowie-like depth.
This is a truly creative track, in the style of David Bowie. It even has touches of musical theatre, and we love how the verse here drops back and the bass guitar follows the melody of the lead vocal.
By the time you reach the first chorus, the song has introduced harmony vocals and some gorgeous swirling organs. The 16-beat tambourine returns here to mark the chorus and by the chorus comes around the second time, you’re feeling ready to sing along and enjoy its catchiness.
Each instrument is used effectively in Broken Promises, and we particularly love how the drum kit is used as a separate instrument, and not just to bolster the other instruments. Real care and attention have been paid to the arrangement of this track and the use of very different sections which return to the recognisable chorus gives the listener plenty to pay attention to.
We enjoyed the distant guitar solo that built into a breakdown-like chorus which felt as though it was the end of the song. The volume of the organ is the first clue the song isn’t over before the drums come powering in for one more rousing chorus.
Ideas from our ears
A cut in the bass around 150-200 would balance out a slight peak in that area. The vocal track could use a dip around 1kHz to reduce the occasional ‘honky’ tone and a little more compression to help bring it further forward in the mix. A high shelf boost around 7-8kHz for some extra brightness too. As always, these are just some ideas from our ears.
Final Thoughts
I Panic is a creative and unique artist whose music is pushing the boundaries of art rock and classic rock. Fans of David Bowie should not miss this treat for the ears.
Thx!