The music scene has thrived in the last couple of years, with many brilliant artists and bands delivering some of the finest works. However, we rarely stumble upon music outlets that know how to write, compose, arrange, and produce complex, meaningful, and enchanting songs that stand out from anything you could possibly hear in the vast sonic universe nowadays. Andrew Schneider is one of those artists whose songwriting and composing abilities go beyond comprehension, and his latest composition is more than rock-solid proof that we are dealing with an outstanding artist. “Astonish Me” is his first piece of work this year, arriving after “Pleasant Thoughts” and “Femme Fatale,” two excellent standalone singles released in 2025 that you should also check out as soon as possible. Through this piece, Andrew Schneider explains how our leaders, businessmen, and other men in power are unfulfilled by wealth and privilege. In this modern age, polluted by international conflicts, global economy fallout, and various natural disasters, they are still furious enough to degrade those beneath them, just because they have not been recognized as our betters. The artist carefully examines these topics through brilliant storytelling, gradually pulling the listener to think deeply about it.
Sonically, Andrew Schneider expands his sound by blending various but complementary styles. As soon as you press play, you’ll hear how he incorporated some of the finest properties of progressive rock, psychedelic rock, and art rock, delivering many complex instrumentations that go beyond comprehension so many times during this track. However, there are orchestral, lounge, and almost bossa nova moments that unquestionably enhance the listening experience to new heights, thanks to their calm, soothing, relaxing, and ethereal properties. Schneider expertly creates tension and release, a push-pull ambiance where every segment acts as an emotional rollercoaster that indulges your listening apparatus. “Astonish Me” has that carefully crafted structure where each profoundly detailed segment comes with plenty of brilliant ideas and outstanding instrumentations, making this track worth spinning over and over again. From the onset, you’ll notice how Schneider’s voice plays a significant role, acting as a separate instrument that builds up an irresistible melody and harmony, leading the listeners through each section of the song. He commands attention and elevates everything to new heights with a perfect balance between low, mid, and high notes, complementing every instrument along the way. Besides decorating each segment and orchestration, his voice also builds emotional depth and complexity over an already intricate structure.
In the meantime, the interplays between guitars shape a perfect backdrop for all the vocals to shine upon. The lush, catchy, memorable chord progressions delivered on acoustic guitars perfectly pair with many accentuations, themes, leads, melodies, and harmonies delivered on generously distorted guitars, while the additional sonic maneuvers delivered via brass section and percussion bring more complexity and depth. With each upcoming section, this composition becomes more detailed, luxuriant, hypnotic, and fascinating. The guitars become more powerful, the brass section more notable, and it’s nearly mindblowing how every layer shines in the limelight without overwhelming the remainder of the orchestrations. Beneath all those instrumentations, the equally impressive basslines rumble, contributing more than necessary heaviness, clarity, and depth while simultaneously acting as binding everything together with the rhythmic patterns. These low ends are lush, deep, dense, warm, and heavy, delivering more groove, depth, and detail to an already intricate song. Of course, this composition wouldn’t sound so powerful without exceptional drumming performance. Each hit of the snare, kick of the bass drum, accentuation over the hi-hat, and splash of the cymbal has its place and purpose here. You’ll immediately notice all those wonderful, expertly assembled, flawlessly performed, well-accentuated beats, breaks, fills, and other percussive acrobatics, keeping everything in line while dictating groove and pace. Andrew Schneider thought about everything while assembling this fine piece of sonic artistry, so a pleasant listening pleasure is more than guaranteed.
With “Astonish Me,” Andrew Schneider delivers a new, unique, innovative, exciting face of progressive and lounge music. It’s a fascinating composition that embraces so many elements, styles, techniques, and approaches, yet it immediately shines with Schneider’s unmistakable songwriting and composing genius. It’s a song that immediately wraps around your listening apparatus and transports you to a completely different realm, a masterpiece that breaks all the rules and shapeshifts boundaries of so many music genres at once. If you’re looking for complex, ethereal, smart prog-lounge music, “Astonish Me” will be right up your alley. Head to your favorite streaming platform and check it out!
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