Circles

I had never heard of Post Malone until his single, Circles. Which is kind of ideal, because I like to hear new music without all the baggage the news media brings to artists. For example, when I first heard Fleetwood Mac or Simon and Garfunkel I was too young to know or understand all the internal drama. It was just music.

I think I heard Circles at a store somewhere and Shazammed it. I bought Hollywood’s Bleeding based on that one song, and it was a good gamble. I love the whole album, particularly the title track. But Circles is my Deep Listen pick.

Anyway, snap on your cans and give Circles a deep listen. The flavors I’m tasting with my ear tongues are an underwater reverby-feel and a deep, pulsing bass.

The song starts lightly with a layered acoustic guitar rhythm and an echoing, sea-worthy lead guitar twang. Then the beat kicks in, and adding to the layers, Post Malone’s quiet, emotional voice slips in.

I’m a sucker for silence inserted into the middle of a track. Coming off the first chorus, it hits me right in the heart.

I initially thought the vibrato in his voice was electronically tweaked, but after listening to a live performance I learned that it’s totally organic.