iTunes Single of the Week: Rogue Wave - "Kicking the Heart Out"

This song opens with a fairly simple progression on a lone acoustic guitar, soon joined in the mix by some distant-sounding guitar "pings." These distant touches are heralds of the rather ambitious arrangement that comes to life as the song builds. It is this arrangment, part-familiar (guitars, handclaps, harmonies, drums entering in the final third), and part-alien (synthesizers, the aforementioned guitar "pings"), that sets Rogue Wave apart from any number of similar lo-fi bedroom acts. Sure, the driving acoustic guitar (fattened by a bass guitar mirroring the guitar's own walking bassline) provides a solid rhythmic backdrop for the song , but the real tension of the song stems from the dense orchestration which gradually builds over the course of the piece. It is singer-songwriter Zach Schwartz's characteristically beautiful voice, however, that truly holds the song together. He sounds so sincere in his delivery that his voice manages to ground the bombast of the latter parts of the song, lending it a comfortable, almost familiar quality where a lesser singer might try to really wail over the layered crescendo of the arrangement.

The production of this song scores both cheers and jeers from this reviewer. The overall sound quality is very raw compared to most modern pop recordings. Various instruments bleed and run into one another, creating a Spector-esque wall of sound. This dense but melodic noise that the band constructs is not reined in by the compression that gives most modern recordings their typical studio sheen, and this lo-fi approach to the production is very evident in the strong dynamics of the song, as it builds from the opening lone acoustic guitar to a screeching guitar and synthesizer-filled climax. The lo-fi recording techniques make this crescendo sound sloppy and natural in a way that no Pro Tools engineer could recreate. At four minutes and twenty seconds, these raw, melodic instrumental touches are what prevent the song from wearing out its welcome. There are points, however, where this accompaniment reaches the point of entirely overpowering the vocals with cymbal crashes, multi-part harmonies, and guitars. This is a shame, as the lyrics of the song, from the bits that I could actually hear, were compelling, although I wasn't able to entirely decode enough of them to give a real analysis of the band's songwriting ability.

The real balancing act here is the juxtaposition of what sounds like a very warm, familiar and folksy song with the bombastic and messily gorgeous arrangement. While at times the mix seems to shift unfairly towards the overdubs and knob-twiddling, thus obscuring Schwartz's lyrics and beautiful voice, the song still manages to maintain a good sense of dynamics. This bit of wistful lo-fi bedroom pop is certainly a charming and catchy tune, and it has made me rather curious to check out the rest of the album. I don't expect this band to change the face of pop music, but if they continue in this vein, they may have a nice career ahead of them. "Kicking the Heart Out" it is a catchy bit of pop songcraft certainly deserving a listen. And for the next few days, it's free, so why pass it up?

Rogue Wave's "Kicking the Heart Out" is the first single off their debut LP, Out of the Shadow, and is featured as iTunes most recent Single of the Week, offered as a free download from their music store (so grab it quick!).