MP3: Juvelen - Watch your step
Frequent contributor Simon Tagestam did a guestpost on Juvelen back in October, but the track that got posted was demo quality and of pale resemblance to the now-finished product. It's time to hear it again with fresh ears.
I've always been kind of ambivalent about Prince. I fully acknowledge his tremendous skill, but outside of his well-known hits, I'm really not interested. Normally that would mean that this sort of tribute/emulation would be ignored, but I trust Hybris so I made sure to give Juvelen's debut EP an honest listen. Derivative or not, this is a hit. There's no other way to describe it. The all-falsetto delivery and the way he emphasizes words like "desperate" and "breathless" pull you in and don't let go. He starts each verse laid back and behind the beat as he tells his story, slowly picking it up as he works towards the chorus. My god, and then the anguish of the bridge! The vocal is pushed to the limit and cracks up - you know his pain because you can hear it. This is the way pop should be - catchy as hell, but emotional too. It doesn't have to be all that deep or original, it just has to work. Juvelen does it all.
Juvelen - Watch your step