Rachel DeeLynn “Can You Hear Me Now?” (SINGLE)

Nasvhille-based by way of Boston and a stay at the Berklee College of Music, singer/songwriter Rachel DeeLynn cites Taylor Swift as a significant influence on her art. We’ll take her word on that, but her new single boasts one clear difference, if no other.

URL: https://www.racheldeelynn.com/

La Swift has never rocked this hard.

I would hate to be the guy, presumably, that DeeLynn penned this ditty for. “Can You Hear Me Now?” is a powerful petulant blast of someone free from their chains and unabashedly saying what’s on their mind. It’s a song that comes from a place of profound hurt, but DeeLynn puts her pain to use purging it through this cut. She builds a short but surprisingly serpentine arrangement, racing to match her intensity during some passages while churning methodically through others, that eschews overstated lead breaks in favor of serving the singer.

They do a remarkable job.

DeeLynn definitely has the pipes for the style. The production saddles her with some unnecessary post-production vocal doubling, but the impact is redundant. She never bulldozes the song with an one-dimensional all-power approach. Instead, she achieves her impact with clarity, putting needed emphasis behind each word, varying the refrains, and paying obvious attention to the surrounding music. Make no mistake, there is ample power behind her voice, but she tempers it rather than sledgehammering listeners into submission.

The direct address of her lyrics is one of the track’s best attributes. It does not go in for ugly, gratuitous language. However, she doesn’t pull punches, and the short, choppy word choices lend percussive power to the performance. She doesn’t overwrite for her audience. The same lean muscularity defining the musical arrangement powers the lyrics, and listeners will be hard-pressed to find an extraneous word.

The muscularity mentioned in the earlier paragraph deepens the song’s impact. It gives “Can You Hear Me Now?” the quality of an eruption, calculated and controlled, pointed for an intended effect. The fact that she’s addressing some unknown “you” out there doesn’t dilute its results, and nor does it make us feel embarrassingly privy to things we shouldn’t be overhearing.

Autobiographical songwriting has been a staple of popular music, particularly the singer/songwriter class, for so long now that it seems comical to recall a time when it seemed novel. DeeLynn instinctively understands that applying universality to her reflections, denunciations, and questions is crucial, avoiding specificity, and keeping things general. A lot of this song’s appeal comes from how you can apply it to more than a single situation. It speaks to a range of experiences rather than hemming you in.

It is a songwriting touch beyond her years. I expect even better moments to come. “Can You Hear Me Now?” is an energetic and bold challenge for any listener, flames with charisma, and doesn’t waste the listeners’ time with frivolous pretentiousness. It’s the work of a first-class singer/songwriter aiming to appeal to the widest possible audience. Based on material such as this, I think she’s got a great shot.

Mark Druery