Though not quite as catchy as they are chill-inducing around every ridge of rhythm they follow, the beats that caress the main melody in “Are You Clapping?,” the latest single from the much-talked-about Taydem Shoesmith, is pendulous yet crucial to making the song as evocative as it is. Centered between the percussion we discover a soft lead vocal from the woman of the hour, her delivery markedly more conservative in style when compared to some of the stimulating content out of her scene this year. Shoesmith masterfully tackles a seductive groove that most young songwriters would have struggled with in “Are You Clapping?,” and justifies all of the hype that her brand has attracted in the last year.
The prowess of the percussive elements in this song aside, there’s no getting around the fact that everything here is made to spotlight the perfectly surreal vocal in the eye of the storm. Shoesmith is the picture of serenity amidst all of the controlled chaos taking shape around her, rarely exuding anything other than a gentle swagger that I would normally associate more with a studio veteran than I would someone ironing out the melodies in their sophomore release. If she’s got any sort of jitters left with regards to how she goes into the recording process, you’d never be able to tell it from listening to this most recent work, because from beginning to end, she puts as much heart into the harmonies as she does relaxed energy into the rhythm.
I do think that, while “Are You Clapping?” is a top-shelf track – especially coming from someone as new to us as Shoesmith is – there are a couple of spots where it allows for the bass to flood the beat, which isn’t the best look if you’re trying to capture the attention of a mainstream audience. I will say though, that at the same time, there’s a certain alternative pop dynamic to the way this aspect of the song was mixed which I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss as being flawed in nature. Contrarily, it’s a pretty redeeming quality in the grander scheme of things (not that she needs any help drawing in, and keeping, her listeners here).
While I only just heard Taydem Shoesmith’s music for the first time just recently, I genuinely like the direction that she’s going in with “Are You Clapping?,” and would love to see what she can do with an extended play. She shouldn’t rush into recording a full-length album just yet; there’s no need to hurry the creative process, and when it comes to singers who have the raw potential that she so obviously does, I’ve found that it’s best to let things simmer for a bit, as to let the artist grow with their music as closely as possible. This artist is doing all the right things at the moment, and as long as she keeps her nose to the grindstone through the rest of this year, she’s going to remain a presence on the indie beat for sure.
Heather Savage