Heather Fay releases new SIngle

SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/album/3mlnhdKbmWU2p9BSXT5UMm

Pop temptress Heather Fay returns with her most engaging sound yet in the new single “The One,” which features a gripping meld of hip-hop beats, R&B rhythm and pop prowess. Fay has been raising her profile in the industry as well as the eyebrows of critics a lot lately, and just one listen to “The One” will give you a pretty good idea as to why. She’s got the spunk of a contemporary pop singer and the smooth delivery of a more erudite player from the underground, and while she’s still growing into her own as a solo artist, this is undeniably some of her best stuff yet.

The vocal track is the star of the show in “The One,” and no other element within the song even comes close to eclipsing its presence in the grander scheme of things. The synths, the percussion, even that enormous bassline that shadows every move that Fay makes in this single – it’s all built around the skillful singing that she executes from behind the microphone. Thanks to the top shelf production quality that she went with in the studio, there isn’t a stitch of her sonic serenade left muffled by the master mix.

Lyrically, “The One” is a lot warmer and embracive of enigmatic themes than previously released material that we’ve heard in her scene. She’s been coming into her own as a songwriter in the last year, and here she seems completely comfortable with the prose and the pace in which she’s able to distribute her melodic drawl. Nothing sounds rushed, but then again, nothing is dragging, either. It’s a well-balanced song compositionally, and Fay was wise to approach it with the same level of patience that clearly went into crafting it into pop perfection. I can see where hip-hop fans in particular would be inclined to gravitate towards these slick beats, but to be frank, anyone who loves a sweet groove could dig on this song.

One thing that I would change about this track is the role of the bass. It’s rife with textured expression, but the unfortunate thing is that it’s not as loud in the mix as I would have preferred it to be. This doesn’t stop the bassline from imparting an emotionality on the percussive parts in the song that wouldn’t be there otherwise, but in general, I think that a song with as much of a club/ambient hybridity as “The One” has would be best outfitted with a low-end depth that matches the intensity of its vocal.

She’s been making a lot of waves and stirring up buzz lately, and there’s no question that Heather Fay’s “The One” is a superb addition to the already exciting catalogue of indie hits that has been our spring 2019 soundtrack. There’s plenty of stylistic ground left for her to cover, but I think that based on the current trajectory that her career is on, it shouldn’t be too much longer before Fay’s work starts to get the attention from mainstream critics and press that she’s devoted so much of her time to attaining. “The One” is rock solid and compelling material for sure, and I doubt it’s the last that we’ll hear from its composer.

I-HEART RADIO: https://www.iheart.com/artist/heather-fay-309828/songs/the-one-68997726/?autoplay=true

Michael Rand