The best pop music always has a sonic trick that takes it out of the most obvious pop realms and pushes it further into adjoining generic territory. You could argue, as I often do, that pop music is at its best when it is trying to be, at least in part, something else, when it has ambition and aspiration.
So, if we regard “Living In My Headphones” as pop, then it is pop with aspirations of being electronic rock music, taking on a sort of anthemic weight and euphoric energy, sky-searing sonics, and fist-in-the-air playoffs that might not otherwise have been there.
It talks of that addiction to music, that safe space that many of us only find coming through radio waves or digital downloads, from speakers, or, in this case, through our headphones. A place to hide, a place to live a parallel life, become a musical alter-ego.
And if the song starts in a relatively calm and spacious place – considered vocals running over an acoustic guitar, it quickly adds that aforementioned sonic weight, a deft blend of digital deliciousness and analog energies, layers of additional tone and texture, poise and polish, and goes soaring skywards via some clever dance-fueled drum breaks and epic drive.
Pop has always tried to be infectious and catchy. Rock has always gone for impact and energy. Dance music is all about beat and groove. “Living In My Headphones” is all of that….and more, so much more.
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