Sam Varga – Never Better

“Never Better” is the latest single by Sam Varga, a Nashville, Tennessee-based singer-songwriter. It’s his first track in 2024, serving as an appropriate follow-up to “No One Hurts Me Like I Can” and “Dark Arts,” two excellent songs released last year. Still, “Never Better” carries many innovations in writing, composing, arranging, and producing. Soundwise, Sam Varga combines a singer-songwriter approach with some of the finest properties borrowed from contemporary emo, indie, and alternative rock music. Still, don’t be surprised if you stumble upon some other elements along the way because there are many. The artist uses all these additional elements as more than necessary enhancements, accentuations, decorations, and other details to uplift his latest track on an entirely new level while simultaneously remaining loyal to the primary sonic direction. Therefore, these experimentations with different but complementary styles resulted in a mesmerizing composition that will appeal to all modern emo and indie music fans. Lyrically, “Never Better” explains how people lie 90% of the time when being asked about their true feelings, so it’s a relatable number that will unquestionably resonate with the broader auditorium.

As soon as you press play, you’ll notice a rich and luxurious ambiance achieved by stacking brilliant ideas and exceptional musicianship. Sam Varga poured all his experience, knowledge, skills, and talent into this composition, and his efforts are vividly hearable from scratch to finish. Of course, his outstanding vocal performance is the first detail you’ll stumble upon. He glides over low, mid, and high notes, expertly emphasizing all the segments and instrumentations while simultaneously guiding listeners through each section of the song. You’ll also hear how cleverly arranged guitar works pervade from all directions. The interplay between acoustic and electric guitars serves as an adequate backdrop for all the vocal maneuvers but it also plays a significant role in shaping such a calm, soothing, relaxing, ethereal atmosphere. The acoustic guitar delivers catchy chord progressions, while the slide guitar enhances everything on an entirely new level by emitting leads, themes, melodies, and accentuations. Sam Varga thought about every detail while assembling these marvelous guitar layers, and they certainly sound majestic from scratch to finish.

The artist also thought about the rhythm section, so you’ll hear how the equally complex, vividly hearable, warm-sounding basslines rumble right beneath the guitar layers, offering more than necessary heaviness, depth, and clarity. This particular instrument also binds the guitar and drums together. The outstanding drumming performance dictates groove and tempo with moderate, well-accentuated beats, breaks, fills, and other percussive acrobatics. Every instrument works like a charm in this sonic equation, and it’s noticeable how much attention the artist poured while constructing the song structure, every segment, and orchestration. Sam Varga combined emo with indie rock like no one before. The rock-solid emo base decorated with generous servings of slide guitar propels the aesthetics, making “Never Better” such an enjoyable listening experience. Sam Varga is one of those artists who avoids all the cliches, breaks the rules, and shapeshifts boundaries, so his latest song carries a fresh and unique take on the genre you need to check out as soon as possible. The single is available on all streaming platforms. Don’t miss it!