“Never Be My Wife” is a new single by a longstanding Dutch solo project, I Panic. It’s the first single this year that serves as an adequate follow-up to “Marry You,” “Forgot To Tell Me” and “Laughing, Talking, Loving,” three exceptional singles I Panic released during 2023. Soundwise, I Panic embraces many different but complementary music genres to illustrate such a rich and luxurious sonic image. Perhaps post-punk comes to mind first, but you’ll unquestionably stumble upon some of the finest properties borrowed from other genres like goth rock, new wave, indie rock, psychedelic rock, and alternative. I Panic uses these additional elements as more than necessary enhancements, accentuations, decorations, and other details that unquestionably uplift this song on an entirely new level, while the artist remains loyal to the primary sonic direction. Therefore, these experimentations with different but complementary music genres resulted in a mesmerizing number that will appeal to even the pickiest post-punk fans.
The artist thoroughly planned every vocal articulation, sonic maneuver, and rhythmic sequence. He skillfully arranged the entire song structure, empowered with many detailed segments that carry brilliant ideas distilled into exceptional musicianship. The outstanding vocal performance emphasizes all these segments and orchestrations by perfectly balancing low, mid, and high notes. Besides decorating those instrumentations, the vocal performance gives more complexity and guides the listener from scratch to finish. You’ll immediately notice how guitars serve as a perfect backdrop for all the vocal maneuvers, with catchy leads, themes, melodies, and regular and arpeggiated chord progressions pervading from all the possible sides. Of course, it wouldn’t be a post-punk track without the equally complex, vividly hearable, warm-sounding basslines that provide more heaviness, depth, and clarity. The outstanding drumming performance based upon moderate, well-accentuated beats, breaks, fills, and other percussive acrobatics dictates groove and pace but also keeps the remainder of the orchestrations in line. Each instrument plays a significant role in shaping this mesmerizing composition, which will suit even those stumbling upon post-punk music for the first time.
I Panic poured all the experience, knowledge, skills, talent, and ideas into “Never Be My Wife.” His efforts resulted in a magnificent number that carries in-depth storytelling lyricism and exceptional musicianship. The complex yet easy-listening song structure reveals many wonderful instrumentations that pay homage to the post-punk fundamentals but also showcase some modern ideas. I Panic knows how to assemble catchy post-punk songs that will resonate with the crowd, and “Never Be My Wife” is undoubtedly one of them. You should put this track on your radar as soon as possible. The single is available on all streaming platforms. Don’t miss it!
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