Aftermath

Aftermath by ATHENA CHIOTI is a emotionally resonant and powerful piece that explores growth and new beginnings but also has a heavy tone of self reflection. With an acoustic style and a laidback instrumental accompaniment, the track creates a lot of space for the audience to exist in its world without directly interacting with the instrumentation. In moments like this, as a listener, you are held up purely by the emotional landscape ATHENA CHIOTI has established up until that point, left to contend with what that means for you and how you can apply the track to your own life.

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This choice for space in the mix allows the tonal aspects of the track to land but also helps inspire reflection from the audience. I was impressed by the vocal performance. Clearly leading the composition, the vocals ebb and flow at their own pace, giving the track a train of thought vocal style. It makes them feel like an authentic, raw, and candid interpretation of the track’s themes. The vocals excel at expressing the emotional detail of certain lines without belting them out at the highest possible intensity or playing up the emotional tone to a cartoonish level. It is a subtle emotional experience which is that much stronger because of its restraint. It’s a personal pet peeve of mine when an excellent song is derailed by melodramatic vocals that pull the attention from the rest of the composition. Aftermath feels like the exact opposite. Its emotional strength is in its subtlety and because of the strong, connected musical relationship with the piano, each element can dance in and out of the spotlight in this beautiful harmony that suits the energy of the piece. The piano in itself is very impressive. I love the subtle trills following this motif of moving upwards on the track’s melodic scale. They create this sense of hope as well as rising drama. It’s a brilliant use of blending the emotive and melodic aspects of a track. The song overall excels in the little things it does. The intricacies and space it creates are truly unique. It is the epitome of focusing on doing the small things right.