Charlotte (US) artist, Josh Nuzum, has just released his third single, Dream on My Own, and we’ve been having a long listen to this talented songwriter here at the Send Me Your Ears studio today.
Dream On My Own is a song of loss. A song of a relationship that has ended and the sadness that ensues, but also the hope of a brighter future and learning to choose to be OK.
Dream On My Own is a gentle, piano-led cinematic pop song that rises and falls beautifully and develops well throughout.
Starting on just piano and vocals, the song swells, almost euphorically, as it develops with some gorgeous strings and percussion. The swells on the cymbals add a certain dynamic to the track. As the song progresses, you really start to feel as though the vocalist is working through something and the positivity of the instrumentation sweeps you along with him.
Vocally reminiscent of Ed Sheeran before he started auto-tuning his vocals, Nuzum has a characterful voice with some beautiful creaks and techniques. Using an aspirated onset when starting a vocal line with a vowel gives the vocals just a touch of “creak” which truly adds to the character and emotion of the song.
As the song develops, harmonies and layered vocals are added. They sit well in the mix and bolster the lead vocals superbly, just adding and adding to the feeling of euphoria.
The strings in this track are particularly pleasant. Not just a “string section” but some lovely character in individual notes and choice of melody.
Lyrically feeling almost like a letter, or a story set to music; “Did you get to Windsor? Like we always said. Was London anything like you pictured in your head?”, Dream On My Own has some beautiful and personal lyrics that tug at the heartstrings.
From a production perspective, we’d suggest just a little notch out in the piano track around 370Hz where it’s just a touch dominant, and also a notch out in the vocals around 600Hz to eliminate a little boxiness, most likely picked up in the track during the recording process. A wide boost, centred around 7kHz with a notch out around 8kHz to avoid over-boosting any sibilance will make this track sparkle even more, in our opinion.
Dream On My Own is a beautiful, heartfelt track from a talented singer-songwriter. We’re very excited to hear more from this North Carolina artist. Great stuff!