ShelterBelt – Noticed [pop]

Soundcloud Pop music artist, Shelterbelt, is a pop band that has been around since the 2000s. Hailing from Omaha Nebraska, Shelterbelt infuses an electric style to their songs as well as uses a plethora of instruments. Their first album, Nothing Makes Me Sad Ever, was released in 2000. Citing Marvin Gaye, Prince, Gustavo Cerati, Tom Waits, Manu Chao, and Willie Nelson as influences gives Shelterbelt unique influences to draw from. Some of their hits include What Do You Say. Noticed, is one of their newest songs and offers a slightly different sound than what some might be used to from the band.

Noticed was released from their newest album, Look at Your Hands, You’ve Got Explaining to Do. The lead singer on the song, Rachel Hospodka, sings a melancholy haunting song about how a woman should’ve seen that it was time to leave her relationship.

The song begins with Rachel singing about being oblivious to what was happening to her relationship. Miss Hospodka’s has a strong voice, although I can’t quite grasp the vocal range ability. Her thin tone creates an emotional resonance within the song and it still has this sultry feel to it. Her soft timbre conveys the sadness with ending her relationship and moving on from it. I can feel the heartache in the song, which makes me a believer that the song delivers it’s intention, which is to make you drift into the reflection of a broken relationship.

Once the bridge comes in, a guitar riff plays throughout as Rachel laments, “I should’ve noticed”. At first listen, the accompanying background instruments might seem too upbeat for such a depressingly sad song. However, hearing the song play over and over, the melody is perfect. It is not uplifting enough to dance to but at the same time, it is not sad enough to cry over. If gives a sense that things will get better for the singer now that she has this revelation.

As the song progresses, Rachel repeats, “I wish you stop thinking”. This powerful lyrics lets the listeners understand that there is no going back. As the chorus begins again, this sentiment is echoed. Rachel’s voice lulls her listeners in and commands their attention. In an age of powerful belters, the emotional drive a softer tone has is often overlooked. As the song plays to its end, this emotional drive is completed.

This is only one of many songs released from Shelterbelt’s albums that were released over the past few years. Stating they wanted something new creatively, “Noticed” delivers. Its soft nice melody gives a nice change of pace from some of the previous sound works.

Give them a listen!

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