“Fill the Blanks” is a new song by Hey Look Listen, an outstanding Ypsilanti, US-based music outlet helmed by a trans solo artist Gwen Katherine. It’s her first piece of work that vividly showcases her ideas, talent, and creativity. Lyrically, “Fill the Blanks” explains how people quickly jump to conclusions without even checking the validity. Being trans makes her even more aware and vulnerable of the sad reality that surrounds us all. Hey Look Listen explores, examines, and criticizes modern society, challenging societal norms and urging more than necessary change. Soundwise, the artist embraces several different, but complementary music genres to illustrate such rich and luxurious sonic imagery. Perhaps shoegaze comes to mind first, but you’ll undoubtedly stumble upon some of the finest properties borrowed from alternative, indie, garage rock, grunge, etc. Her music continuously levitates between the late eighties, nineties, noughties, and modern scenes, exploring the lush musical palette with precision and finesse.
Gwen Katherine’s multilayered vocal performance demonstrates her ability to channel important topics through her music. Besides cleverly assembled lyrics, she showcases an impressive vocal range that seamlessly balances low, mid, and high notes. These vocal harmonies also command attention and guide the listening apparatus throughout the composition while simultaneously emphasizing all the segments and instrumentations. The bass guitar plays a significant role in this sonic equation. Besides contributing to the heaviness, clarity, and depth with its intricate, vividly hearable, warm-sounding low-end notes, this instrument serves as a perfect backdrop for Gwen Katherine’s vocals to shine. These sonic maneuvers are notable during the verses, but you’ll hear these basslines effortlessly throughout the composition. Also, it’s good to mention that the bass guitar binds all the instrumentations with the drums, acting like a glue that holds everything together.
The interplay between rhythm and lead guitars decorates and enhances this fine piece of sonic artistry to an entirely new level. You’ll notice how the cleverly assembled, flawlessly performed riffs and chord progressions resonate on one side while the other shines with catchy, engaging, memorable themes, melodies, and harmonies. The generous servings of distortion create a pleasant rawness, abrasiveness, and fuzziness while the subtle addition of reverb gives a more echoic ambiance. Of course, “Fill the Blanks” wouldn’t sound this good without the excellent rhythmic patterns based upon expertly assembled beats, breaks, fills, and other percussive acrobatics. These rhythmic sequences keep everything in line while dictating the groove and pace. Gwen Katherine thought about everything while writing, composing, arranging, recording, and producing, so her debut single resonates with a meaningful message, empowered with exceptional instrumentation. She showcases all her abilities from the start, immediately introducing listeners to her expansive sonic universe. “Fill the Blanks” is rock-solid proof that music genres like shoegaze, alternative, and indie can still sound fresh, unique, and innovative while positioning Hey Look Listen as a clever artist who knows how to write and compose meaningful and catchy songs. The single is available on all streaming platforms. Don’t miss it!
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