If we had a “tenderness from the soloist” category at RARB, Let Her Go would take top marks. Unfortunately, there isn’t, and what remains of Let Her Go dips below the bar from British group The Techtonics. 

The problem with this song is in its foundation, and that’s awfully hard to easily correct. The Techtonics have taken source material (opb Passenger) that’s the saddest of the sad international hits, like walking down a descending staircase of painful regret to a basement of melancholy foreverness. (The song is really that sad.) But oddly, The Techtonics's version is paired with one of the most abrasive syllable patterns we have in a cappella, the infamous “ja na”. This pattern is good for a quick guitar lick; it doesn’t work so well as 80% of the background for a heartbreaker. When the music swells, the song sounds nearly aggressive with this arrangement choice, instead of an expected emotional intensity. One hopes for more subtitles and nuance in these types of covers so we can connect with the music in a more approachable manner. The warm beginning and end which bookmark Let Her Go is much more inviting and meaningful.

RARB enjoyed The Techtonics's debut release Groundbreaker, so perhaps this is just a brief detour back to the Land of Good.