If ever there was a song that encapsulated the idea that less is more, then “Breath,” the latest single from Silver Summer, is surely it. And if the album version is already a minimalist and marvellously cut piece of pop, this video release takes it further into the realm of atmospherics and sonic reduction.
Not just one voice and one piano, but a voice that seems to ebb and flow like the titular “Breath,” and a spacious piano that does only what is needed to tether the song in reality, to stop it from drifting away on the ether.
So it is with minimalism and grace that the song reaches the listener, a perfect dance of the elegant and the eloquent, of delicacy and deftness, Colin Scharf taking the song into the gossamer realms of a solo performance, and the more he strips away, the more the song, ironically, speaks volumes. Not that the album version wasn’t a gorgeous song to begin with.
If “Breath” proves anything, it is a reminder that it is not the mechanics that make a song, not the layers of sound, the studio tricks and sonic gimmicks, it is something far less tangible – a sentiment, a seduction, a passion, something that connects less with the ear or the brain but rather engages fully with the heart and soul. Whatever that force or feeling might be, “Breath” has it in spades.
Apple Music
Spotify
Facebook
Instagram
Album pre-order
