Andrew Schneider is back with another piece of fine sonic artistry that will immediately appeal to all those listeners looking for calm, soothing, relaxing, ethereal music. After “Femme Fatale” and “Mermaid Smiled,” two outstanding songs that vividly showcase his songwriting and composing abilities, this Chicago-based singer-songwriter returns with “Pleasant Thoughts,” an exceptional number that will immediately appeal to even the pickiest music enthusiasts. Originally crafted in 2007 and purified over years of live performances, “Pleasant Thoughts” proves that Schneider is more than capable of delivering deeply emotional songs that tackle all the senses. Lyrically, “Pleasant Thoughts” covers various sentiments through profoundly detailed, storytelling lyricism. He explores different moods, situations, and circumstances, exploring all the possible outcomes and eventually getting to the conclusion. It’s a highly relatable, contemplative composition that will immediately resonate with the crowd. Sonically, Andrew Schneider uses an already-proven formula that marvelously suits his vocal abilities. While his music usually explores fundamental elements of indie music, listeners might also detect some of the finest properties borrowed from classic rock, alternative rock, alternative pop, and indie pop along the way. These styles suit him well, so while “Pleasant Thoughts” might resonate with all the qualities of modern indie music, don’t be surprised if you notice how some of these additional elements enhance the ambiance, evoking some nostalgic nineties and noughties sounds. Therefore, these experimentations with many different approaches and styles resulted in a magnificent sonic display that vividly showcased Andrew Schneider’s creative genius.
From the onset, the beautiful interplay between various guitar layers grabs you by the collar and refuses to let go long after this song ends. You’ll notice how the combination of generously distorted and acoustic guitars creates such an otherwordly ambiance. These guitar layers resonate harmoniously without overwhelming each other, and Schneider poured a lot of effort into creating this incredible interplay. The comprehensive collection of catchy, memorable, engaging chord progressions, harmonies, melodies, themes, and other sonic maneuvers shape a perfect backdrop for all the vocals to shine upon. In the meantime, subtle yet vividly hearable keys elevate all the mentioned instrumentations to new heights, spice the ambiance to the max, and contribute more complexity to an already intricate structure. Together, guitars and synths shine in the limelight, and you’ll have a pleasant listening experience while detecting all those orchestrations, details, and nuances. Still, Schneider’s incredible vocal performance steals the show here. You’ll hear how his soulful, passionate, sincere, confident, emotional, and powerful voice commands attention, guides the listening apparatus, and gives more detail to each segment of the song. He seamlessly glides over low, mid, and high notes from scratch to finish with such precision and finesse, making “Pleasant Thoughts” worth listening to repeatedly.
The incredible rhythm section is one of those details that makes “Pleasant Thoughts” even more powerful and interesting. Like other instrumentations, the bass and guitars play a significant role in this sonic equation by acting like a backbone that holds the song together. Those deep, dense, heavy, and luxuriant basslines offer heftiness, clearness, and deepness to each section while acting like a glue between guitars, synths, and drums. On the other hand, the expertly crafted, flawlessly performed, well-accentuated, moderate rhythmic sequences are solely responsible for why this track sounds so groovy and on time. Each hit of the snare, kick of the bass drum, and splash over the cymbal cuts the ethereal ambiance, keeps everything in line, and dictates tempo. Every beat, break, fill, and accentuation is carefully considered, so although they play an important role in this track, they do now overshadow other orchestrations. As usual, Andrew Schneider delivers a magnificent piece of music. “Pleasant Thoughts” is one of those tracks that instantly grabs your attention and launches you to another realm. With a soothing ambiance, intricate yet easy-listening instrumentations, and marvelous vocal harmonies, it’s a song that will immediately become one of your favorite songs. It vividly showcases the natural progression of an already fascinating singer-songwriter. Andrew Schneider deserves your attention, so you should immediately place this marvelous composition on your music radar. “Pleasant Thoughts” is available on all streaming platforms. Don’t miss it!
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