UK-based indie-pop producer and singer-songwriter Jamie Jordan is the mastermind behind Ear Candy – a new music project hitting the ground running in 2022 with a January debut entitled ‘Over You’.
Self-described as like if “day glow had an inappropriate love child with panic! at the disco”, the artist promises to deliver indie pop enthusiasm and an energetic alternative edge.
‘Over You’ is about heartbreak, but in a light, “beat myself up about it” kind of way. On the subject of the song, Jordan remarks:
This track is about how i would constantly let myself be led on by girls that were no good for me. It would leave me stuck getting over them and I would have no one to blame but myself.
The track opens with a modern, warbly vocoder and a lead vocal autotuned as an intentional effect that instantly grabs your attention and satisfies the eardrums. The classic descending-bassline chord progression is like some kind of robot daft punk Beatles mashup, a mixture of modern and familiar. When we hit the verse, the doors open to dreamy indie guitars and punchy drums and we are firmly in indie-pop territory.
Jordan’s voice soars up to an earnest falsetto for the chorusses which sounds great, and provides contrast. We hear more of his falsetto in the later ad libs, which showcase a crazy vocal range. The backing vocals are cleverly crafted, especially the use of short vocal interventions drenched in reverb to add an enveloping, nostalgic vibe.
The second verse is different to the first one – it’s a snappy, almost-spoken section, reminiscent of 2000s pop punk, that lifts up the energy after the chorus and again, provides a nice contrast before the second chorus kick in. What follows is a middle-8 with a return of the robo-Beatles, followed by a half-time almost-breakdown (this song has everything!).
We actually thought the surprising song structure to be very effective: the short and varied sections help to keep the energy up, and constantly engage the listener. The wordless hook at the end cleverly ingrains the melodies of the chorus to memory, and cements the status of this song as ‘ear candy’.
‘Over You’ is definitely an exciting debut, and we look forward to what is coming next!
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Andy is a multi-instrumentalist, producer and sound engineer.