“Overdose” by Vocalist Vianchi

There’s a true enigmatic quality to singer Vianchi. Not only is it a little difficult to find interviews with him, but the information that is present is pretty standard. Conventional start of wanting to be a musician, but the way he’s been able to transform and lean into the mysterious angle he projects is just fascinating. With only two singles to his name, “Overdose” and his previous release “Die Alone” there’s a lot of promise in what he’s trying to convey.

Aesthetics seem to drive him, and to be honest when I first listened to the song, I thought it was a bit more style over substance, reflective of today’s most popular set dressing: 80s! Many musical acts have changed their style to fit with the vibrant, neon-soaked, almost vaporware quality that I’m not particularly sure where it originated (maybe the success of TV series like Stranger Things assisted), and when the song begins, you’re immediately coaxed with a certain level of familiarity. It’s a well-mixed and mastered song and I found myself really into the rhythms and Vianchi’s unique higher-pitched voice, and then something happened, and everything just kind of clicked. In a lot of music today, we often take the gift of lyricism for granted. Yes, there are plenty of catchy hooks to go around and a lot of interesting, engaging, deeply raw lyrics, but sometimes when you’ve listened to a lot of music, you get overly familiar with the trappings.

It’s super easy to get caught up in what someone sings and look no deeper, and while I don’t think Vianchi is unearthing some miraculous insights into the human condition, he’s playing with expectations. Yes, he sings about his love for how something makes you feel, the music video is VIanchi in an almost light bar-ridden prison with just him is a tattooed seductive woman, you get the impression this is about someone. Then you realize he’s never said the words “she” and “girl” only comes up once. Much like the debate of Lou Reed’s infamous “Perfect Day” and the correlating rumors that it was about more than just a seemingly “perfect day”, you begin to scratch past the surface and ask yourself “wait, is he literally singing about the potent effects of addiction?” Referring to it as his love, that no one quite does it like “it does”.

I made the mistake of taking this for granted as a style over substance song when it’s really not. More than anything, there’s a lot of promise on display. You definitely believe that he loves making music and what he’s working on resonates with him deeply, but in the future, I’d love to see him a little more emotionally unrestrained. I don’t mean hysterical, but I want to see him just own it all. He has a fantastic voice, a growing aesthetic, and I could easily see him shooting upwards by the end of this year. These are promising debuts and there’s nothing more exciting than new talent. He should indulge himself, there’s a lot to get intoxicated on listening to him.

Michael Rand