Stacy Gabel  – “High Heeled Shoes” (SINGLE) 

Though lyrically more aggressive than her last couple of songs have been, Stacy Gabel is still being herself in “High Heeled Shoes” and steering clear of the overindulgent concepts that many of her peers have been enamored with in their own work recently. There’s no space for a surreal bend to this performance – from the moment we get started forward, Gabel is giving us straight pop charisma of the most clear cut and crisp variety. She’s anti-filler and pro-melodicism in every department here, and it all adds up to an accessible and carefree listen fans of the pop genre should more than enjoy.

MORE ON STACY GABEL: http://www.stacygabel.com/

There’s quite a spring to the steps behind the verses ahead of the chorus in this track, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say that Gabel’s words are setting the pace at all. She’s letting the percussion drive the hook rather than her voice, and given just how grand a melodic capacity she has as a singer, this must not have been very easy to do. Showing self-restraint in the studio can do far more for your career than needless excess in 2020, and this is clearly something she is more than aware of in “High Heeled Shoes.”

Although steeped in conventionality from a compositional perspective, this song is undeniably made a little more colorful by Gabel’s vocal style than it would have been had a different vocalist been crooning the same words. She’s got her own unique approach to songcraft, and if that were ever debated before the arrival of her most recent work, I don’t think it’s going to be once this single finds its share of the spotlight. There aren’t many pop singers evolving out of tradition right now, and that’s precisely what gives her sound such a one of a kind edge.

A terrific display of mature songwriting and pop prowess, “High Heeled Shoes” sees Stacy Gabel truly growing into her own and escaping the shadow of her influences once and for all. Her lyricism is getting very witty while her grasp of harmonies is getting a lot more profound than I had initially thought it could be, and if there’s anything that the pop music scene in the United States really needs at the moment, it’s someone with her elegant appreciation of the genre’s most fundamental requirements. She has my endorsement, and I think this track just might win yours as well.

Mark Druery