Hansel Romero
Steady (ft. Alyce) - Single (2017)
Review By Dom Otto Asís
November 3, 2017
Ordering Information
Steady also streams on Spotify.
Listening to Steady as performed by Hansel Romero featuring Alyce McNulty takes me to a different place. The mix makes this song sound like there's a club right next door.
However, I don't think the reverb and flanger effects are necessary for the track to sound great. The overall build up of the arrangement is layered in such a way that it already feels like an EDM track. As a result, I hear a whole new song out of The Staves' original folk rock version. The bass and vocal percussion lines are the top contributors to this feel since the background vocals are mostly chord-driven "oh"s and "hum"s. Is this a good thing? The easier answer is "Yes!". Hansel's creativity is demonstrated here, as it's a difficult feat to transform a song with repetitive chord patterns into a decent built-up a cappella version.
I think the only cringe moment is the reverb at the beginning, as it sounds like a failed attempt to add appropriate audio effects to the existing great vocals of Alyce. I enjoy the part where the main vocals start to be featured up front and are not overly reverbed. I will definitely listen to Steady again when my mood requires redemption, as the climax of this version makes me feel redeemed.