“Harder” is the latest single by Avalon Stone, an outstanding Canadian artist. It’s her first single in 2024 and arrives as an adequate follow-up to “Forget You,” a critically acclaimed song released last year. However, “Harder” demonstrates many innovations in writing, composing, and producing. After the unquestionably heavy, robust, aggressive sound showcased with “Forget You,” Avalon Stone decided to slow down the pace and present a calm, soothing, relaxing, meaningful rock ballad. Still, “Harder” carries all the sonic ingredients like her previous work. Don’t be surprised if you stumble upon elements of grunge, alternative, hard rock, soul, metal, and other similar music genres. This fresh approach presents Stone’s other side that leans much more soulful performance.
As soon as you press play, you’ll notice her sincere, confident, emotive, but equally powerful vocal performance. Avalon showcases all her vocal abilities by balancing low, mid, and high notes with such precision and finesse. She emphasizes all the segments and instrumentations with such ease, and her performance is a the core of this number. “Harder” wouldn’t sound this good without these vocal harmonies, and grunge, alternative, or hard rock vocalists like Avalon Stone are rare nowadays. Of course, guitars shine bright in the mix, acting as a perfect backdrop for her vocal articulations. The calm, soothing, relaxing, nearly ethereal, semi-distorted chord progressions during verses and generously distorted riffs during the choruses give more than necessary support to Avalon’s voice. A touch of reverb and delay make things even more interesting, decorating and uplifting particular segments to the max.
You’ll also notice how the bass guitar roars right beneath the guitars, but it’s vividly hearable in the mix. As usual, this instrument provides all the necessary support by offering heaviness, clarity, and depth, and binding guitars and drums together. The drummer dictates groove and pace, but also keeps the remainder of the instrumentations in line by providing heavy, robust, well-accentuated rhythmic sequences. Every band member supplies outstanding musicianship that makes “Harder” such an incredible song, but Avalon Stone remains a true star of this show. Stone once again proves why she’s one of the best alternative rock singer-songwriters nowadays. She poured all her knowledge, skills, and talent into this track, and her efforts resulted in a meaningful rock ballad that exceeds all expectations. You should put “Harder” on your radar as soon as possible because Avalon Stone’s vocal and musical performance will knock you off the chair. The single is available on all streaming platforms. Don’t miss it!
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