The current day and age of music is unlike it has ever been before, and while some artists prefer the old-fashioned way of making hits, other talents are embracing the new wave and doing things on their own. Whether streaming has helped or hurt the music process in your opinion, there’s no denying that the current internet age of releases has helped certain musicians reach audiences easier than ever before. While this contributes to a lot more quantity that often results in a lot less quality, there are always diamonds in the rough, and when Im put onto these gems, you can bet that I’m going to spread the word about them.
Most recently, I was told about Jillian Rossi, an artist whose breakout single “So What” was a defining moment early on in her blossoming career, receiving love from platforms like Rolling Stone, Medium, Early Rising, and others. Caleb Hearn, another growing talent, also received some much-deserved recognition after his song “Always Be” went viral on TikTok which eventually led to the record going top 50 in multiple different countries as well. While these feats might be enough to call it a career for some up and comers, these two talents simply use these early accomplishments as fuel for their fires, striving to continuously level up and never settle even slightly.
This is obvious in the duo’s most recent single “Under the Weather”, a record that goes into heavy detail about the sadness and loneliness that comes along with not only the isolation that that have dealt with during quarantine but the combination of this and some already existing stressors in their own personal lives. Beginning with the beat which was produced by Nathan Proctor and Johnny Simmen, touching piano riffs, ambient melodies, and thumping drums all combine with one another to create the basis for a hit in every sense of the world, and Jillian and Caleb definitely rise to the occasion and bring this track to new heights.
As it opens, the instrumental is fairly bare-bones as Jillian singularly sings some emotive lines. After just a few moments, the production begins to build and Caleb joins Jillian, singing along with her word for word as her voice also continues to grow in power and conviction. After they reach the pique and the chorus comes in full-swing, the beat drops and the duo switches up their cadence slightly, utilizing a beyond catchy flow that is complemented by equally addictive melodies that are sure to stick out in listeners’ minds from the first moment they hear it. Later on, Caleb provides us with a few singular lines of his own, bringing the track back down to Earth before the beat begins to build along with their vocals once again, leading to an authoritative and captivating finish that truly blew me away.
Obviously, quarantine hasn’t been an easy thing for most people, and when that gets combined with other things going on in someone’s life, it makes it that much more difficult to deal with. I not only respect these two artists for opening themselves up to the world, but I also respect the fact the two talents have actually never met one another in person. Instead, they had to resort to Zoom, which is fairly common nowadays, to write the song and bring it to life. With that being said, I don’t think it could’ve come out any better if they did create it in person, but it was an undeniable success without a doubt either way. Although “Under the Weather” might stray a bit further from the types of music I typically listen to, it’s a moving and enthralling song without a doubt in my mind, so it’s definitely a record I recommend you listen to as soon as you’ve finished reading this sentence.