Review: The synth-pop duo Glowstate share their new single ‘Catch Me’, an easy-going respite with a more pained narrative of heartache
The newly formed duo Glowstate have found themselves slowly but surely edging their way into the synth-pop music scene, fuelled by a compelling need to create music and a determination to share it for the masses to relate to. As they speak on the complex realities of relationships, the struggle with personal, often self-inflicted dramas and navigating life as an adult kid, Glowstate are the pairing you’ve been searching for that’ll leave you feeling good while completely heard and less alone. Their newest single ‘Catch Me’ more than provides that sense, as Glowstate go through turmoil while their positive sound remains shining bright.
Bearing a soft but colourful bedding of sound, Glowstate have interweaved a soundscape in ‘Catch Me’ that’s soothing and minimal while still at its core emotionally intimate, allowing you to listen along with an ease. As the track glides in with vibrant, reverberated electric guitar plucks, there’s an immediately established vast atmosphere at play, almost leaving you feeling like you’re stood in the centre of an empty hall watching Glowstate’s calming performance all to yourself. Simmering in further with steady drum taps and percussion clicks, shortly also joined by the choruses’ bright synth pops, ‘Catch Me’ is a slow-burner that’s continually upbeat the entire way through. Warm and utterly mesmerising, ‘Catch Me’ is the kind of release that’ll soothe your nerves and eradicate your headaches on those wearier days, offering a safe respite to escape to. Their vocalists duet the entire way through, with a male vocalist taking centre stage with a hauntingly charismatic depth and rich tone, whilst a female vocalist offers an agile range beneath that’s slightly more subdued under his every word. Together, the narrative feels unavoidably poignant, weaving their words together and delivering upon a performance that’s both bright and saddened all at once.
Though its sound is floaty and easy-going, ‘Catch Me’ has a more confused and pained lyrical message buried beneath, following a protagonist that just can’t help but fall for someone despite numerous red flags along the way. From the opening line ‘I just wanna know why you gotta play me’ , it’s immediately clear that this is a one-sided romance where they’re continually led on to hope for something more, hooked on every word and possibility but left every single time. As Glowstate continue to repeat ‘I just wanna know’ throughout, there’s a heavy indication of confusion too, as our storyteller finds themselves unable to decipher the way their lover’s words and actions fail to align. Asking questions the whole way through, Glowstate try to understand their place while singing ‘why is it that you’re always there when I know you won’t catch me’ , trying to make sense of the lack of emotional reciprocation but perplexed by their continual presence every single time. Knowing that their relationship is headed nowhere except inside their own mind, lines like ‘I just wanna know what we’ve been doing, need some handbook of rules ‘cause everyone else is cruising’ emphasise how they feel parked up while others mindlessly steer on by, wishing for something that’s no more than a hopeless dream. Though it’s lyrically frustrated, ‘Catch Me’ is just as infused with that spark you can’t help but linger onto in terms of sound, pining for a nonexistent romance that we’re sure just about everyone has found themselves doing at least once.
Check out ‘Catch Me’ here to delve into Glowstate’s soothing sound and more melancholically tinged lyricism!
Written by: Tatiana Whybrow
Photo Credits: Unknown
// This coverage was created via Musosoup, #SustainableCurator.
