2023 has been an incredible time for pop music despite only being one month into the year, with independent artists like the spirited Shiloh June issuing stately releases that have raised an eyebrow or two among some of the genre’s toughest critics. June’s new single, the simple “Down,” introduces an exotic, anthemic groove to an otherwise traditional pop composition, and while it’s only one track out of an underground scene that is bursting with talent at the moment, it gives listeners a pretty good idea as to what this new age in pop should be all about. Hers is a style that isn’t beholden to the conventional parameters that prevent the majority of her closest rivals from achieving mainstream success; she isn’t afraid to get a little experimental here, and her moxie is capturing the hearts of fans around the globe this January.
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/shilohjune/?hl=en
June’s bittersweet crooning is the undisputed star of this show; the strings form a melodic cushion for her every utterance, whilst the bassline and a light pulsation of percussion provide a bit of structure for her flowing verses. The mood is upbeat, like the tempo, but there’s a bit of unspoken melancholy in her vocals, eluding to a profound narrative behind the black-and-white surface of the lyrics. She’s not too enigmatic in her poeticisms, but she artfully uses the brittle design of the rhythm to hide her deeper emotions in this song. Don’t worry if you’re not adept at poetic decryption; June is speaking in the universal language of harmony in “Down,” and it doesn’t require any degree of artistic translation to appreciate the depth of her sonic statements in this single.
The lack of bass physicality in this song is genuinely refreshing to hear, especially when you take into account how saturated the low-end has been in most of the pop music topping the charts this season. Pop musicians have always been a lot better at managing the tonal spectrum, but Shiloh June is operating on a particularly elite level in “Down.” Her sound isn’t weighed down by a bloated bassline because, frankly, the bulge of her swinging beats sports more than enough muscle to compensate. It would be nice to see her contemporaries in the mainstream follow suit, but at the same time, it’s one of the biggest reasons why I found this song as appealing as I did.
KKBOX: https://www.kkbox.com/jp/en/album/_-QgycfxQDQcWydsPo
“Down” is a tenderly melodic treat for pop fans young and old, and if it’s a fair representation of what Shiloh June can do when there aren’t any creative limitations put in front of her, then I think she’s going to find a lot of fame and fortune as the years go by. She’s got her whole career in front of her at the moment, and in my opinion, she picked the perfect song to kick off her professional campaign. It’s not quite the muted performance that a lot of her closest rivals have been using to segue out of the underground, but to me, that’s its greatest charm.
Heather Savage
