Chris Waters
The lead vocal tends to be the signature component of any given hip-hop track, no matter who the rapper or producer behind its creation happens to be, but this is especially true of the music created by Austin-based songwriter Chris Waters. In Waters’ new single and music video, “Blurry,” he introduces us to two sides of his personality inside of the same song - one a brooding melodic alt-rocker, the other a hip-hop aficionado who has the rhythm and rhyming capabilities necessary to make a statement in the studio. Together they make for an unbeatable combination, and I probably won’t be the only journalist to say so.
This beat is a little constrictive on the verse Waters is trying to share with us at the start of the song, but the pressure that ensues - and lasts throughout the entirety of “Blurry” - is anything but repellant and unquestionably a big part of the reason I haven’t been able to put the track down since first picking it up. There’s not a lot of physicality to the instrumentation, so by creating a postmodern tension in the mix through the presence of percussion (a standard feature in most popular music), Waters delivers an efficient single that isn’t lacking in bite at the same time.
There’s a really sweet melodicism to the hook here which also caught my attention right out of the box when reviewing “Blurry,” and I think it’s more than enough to attract the sort of radio attention that separates the indie hits from the legit crossover material that brings artists out of obscurity and into the spotlight. You don’t have to be a professionally-trained critic to feel just how unforced the performance we’re getting from Waters is, and I would even say that his humble approach to the lyrics softens some of the rougher edges in this brooding rap power ballad.
Chris Waters has been making a pretty big splash in select trap circles lately, and frankly it’s easy for me to understand what all of the buzz has been about when listening to “Blurry” and checking out the video made in support of its release this past summer. 2020 has been one of the toughest years most any of us can remember experiencing in recent history, and in this single, a talented voice manages to ignite a bit of light at the end of the tunnel with little more than his organic skillset behind the mic.
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Trace Whittaker
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
10/2020
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