I’d argue that it was immediately clear from his first single ‘Intuition’ that Charlie Tait was an starkly recognizable talent. The few pieces I’ve read about this song appear to say differently, arguing that it’s this new one that proves it wasn’t a fluke but if you reckon you can fluke that production on the first track then you’re drug addled, fella, and I’m not the “whoops, that’s a lot of pseudephadrine!” sort of addled, neither. Nothing lowers the tone of a written piece than the word ‘fluke’ does it? Anywho, The attention this guy pays to the bottom end is the defining strength of this production. It’s almost as if this is a sunnier, daytime counterpart to the closeted gloom that is the recent (and wonderful) LUCIANBLOMKAMP record. Attention paid to the sonic nuances around the beat is complimented by some vocal Justin Vernonisms and an unexpectedly hooky chorus and the sum total is a very, very listenable song.

 

There’s such texture in the voice of Simon Okley so as to trick you into thinking that he was singing across a tall range when it’s actually quite a limited depth of pitch. His tone moves from rounder, back of the throat sounds to breathier quiet whispers and backing vocals thicken his thinner chorus notes. It’s captivating enough to retain your attention for the whole of the track despite having to compete with some similarly attractive elements. That guitar section, which is paired perfectly with a clean and clear bass line is just beautiful. When the chorus drops in that same guitar line starts hugging the vocal part like an estranged father recently reunited with a child, endorphins everywhere, tears streaming down both of their faces as they finally let go of all that hurt and all that distance and all that pain. So cathartic, way beautiful. Okley spent his formative “moonlighting” as a guitarist for Oh Mercy but now out on his lonesome he’ll be releasing his record Surrender on the 19th of August. He certainly knows his way around the old throat for someone who was a string noodler all that time. I’m hoping that the album houses more tracks like this one because this is a legitimate song, not simply a pretty voice and a nice groove. Ten more of these and we’re talking about a standout release.