bd Gottfried “Live, Fight & Die” (SINGLE)

In bd Gottfried’s startlingly on-point “Live, Fight & Die,” the burgeoning singer and songwriter reflects on experiences as a player who, for better or worse, has lived enough life to tell a story or two and has no qualms about doing as much here. Boasting some of the more endearing lyrical content of any indie output I’ve reviewed recently, “Live, Fight & Die” is a song that puts us in the perspective of its composer while still allowing us to create our objective interpretations of the narrative. It’s by far one of the most well-rounded recordings of its kind out right now, and a track that I would recommend to anyone interested in alternative rock with a heartfelt message.

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The mix here is very meticulously crafted to give almost every element, from the guitars to the intricately textured percussive parts, its moment in the spotlight. Gottfried’s honey-sweet singing isn’t the only spark to behold in “Live, Fight & Die;” on the contrary, it’s probably one of the more understated examples of grandiosity that you’ll discover when taking a closer look at the track’s most refined details. The only thing that I would have changed about this mix is the relative lack of depth on the bassline, but that aside, this is startlingly focused material – especially when taking into account the fact that it’s coming from an untested, unproven artist who is pretty new to the recording studio.

I don’t know that the guitars needed to have as much of an oomph as they do in the chorus of “Live, Fight & Die,” but I suppose that it makes sense if Gottfried was trying to create a bigger vacuum effect during the song’s biggest climax. By turning up the heat on the strings, it feels as though we’re being drawn ever-closer to the warmth of bd Gottfried’s vocal, which is the constant linchpin holding everything together in this track like sonic superglue. It’s not going to be everyone’s kind of sound, but for those of us who can appreciate harmony-driven pop with a sensible, almost AOR-inspired approach to prose, there aren’t going to be many singles that can hold a candle to what “Live, Fight & Die” is truly all about.

Though I wasn’t at all familiar with who bd Gottfried was or what his music aspired to be before getting ahold of a pre-release copy of “Live, Fight & Die” just this past week, I’m looking forward to hearing more of his work as he grows into this sound over the next few years. He’s got a lot of raw passion that he’s bringing with him into the studio in this track, and if he’s able to hone all of that energy and condense it for the purposes and needs of the contemporary pop audience, there should be no doubts as to the limitlessness of his potential as a performer. Gottfried is on one heck of an epic journey in this song, and based on the strength of its potent hook, I’d say this adventure is going to last a long, long time.

Mark Druery