MUSIC SINGLE REVIEW: Death By Piano: Emergency

Hailing from Brooklyn, 'Death By Piano' are a duo consisting of singer and keyboardist Kalen Lister and instrumentalist and producer Greywolf. The band name may imply a cacophony of piano music, but they actually perform electro music with hints of synth pop and trip hop in its spacious use of synthesised music beds and programmed beats. Their latest release – ‘Emergency’ (available to stream and download now) – captures a sense of unease within its swirling synthesiser rhythms and lyrics (“I know it’s coming, it’s an emergency”) which seem to tap into the current mood of the world in 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic continues.

The song begins with a vocal from Greywolf, which sounds a bit like it has wandered in from a nu-metal song from the early 2000s in its delivery, over a repeated bass pulse and a hint of sustained synthesiser before Kalen’s voice emerges as the music begins to build up and lurks behind Greywolf’s voice until the first chorus when Kalen takes over before she takes the lead for the second verse with Greywolf’s voice lurking behind hers. It’s an effective technique, allowing for the additional voice to appear as the music begins to build up and the having it dip in and out of the vocals, creeping like a presence in the shadows, which naturally adds to the uneasy atmosphere of the song. After the second chorus, the synthesisers and drum beats build up and swirl around as Kalen’s voice sings the song’s refrain (the voice altered by an effect to sound like it is echoing out) before Greywolf’s vocals come to the fore and the two blur into each other’s vocal lines. As the song nears the climax, Kalen’s voice is left alone to sing the chorus while the bass and drums in the music pound out a rhythm alongside the sounds of the synthesiser until the music suddenly stops and its echo lingers for a few seconds before fading away.

At times the song is very reminiscent of the work by The XX (the use of male and female vocals over atmospheric soundscapes) or Portishead (the sense of creeping unease unfolding within the beats and synths) but has enough of an identity to stands on its own. While it isn’t likely to pick up heavy airplay on the more mainstream radio stations, the song’s refrain and atmosphere does lend itself well to film and television soundtrack use – you could easily imagine this song being played over the end credits of a drama series. There is certainly enough within this song, which cleverly builds up as it goes along and unfolds new aspects to its instrumentalisation, to mark out 'Death By Piano' as ones to listen out for in the future.

Reviewer - Andrew Marsden
on - 22/7/20