Streaming has birthed an odd kind of musical inflation. Albums are deluxe editions. Deluxe editions become “complete” editions. Singles include five mixes that are only discernibly different if you possess the hearing of a bat or the patience of a saint. Somewhere along the line, we became conditioned to believe that quantity was an acceptable proxy for artistic intent. Next Time (I Won’t Be Falling), by C’batch, is something that more or less fits the last one, but it does make a good case with as to why.
This isn’t an EP that claims to have four songs within it. It’s one song explored four times, and-crucially; it’s aware of that limitation and asks you to trust it regardless. That’s either artistic discipline or hubris, depending entirely on how well the central song lands and it lands well.
The original composition of “Next Time (I Won’t Be Falling)” weaves together the smooth textures of jazz, contemporary R&B sheen, and polished Euro-pop polish around the familiar pledge to resist a dangerous affection while clearly already faltering. Though the conceit is well-trodden, C’batch wisely shuns theatrics; the vocals never whine. They are negotiation. The underlying beat never erupts in a sudden frenzy of self-pity because the composition recognizes something that many relationship laments overlook: the weary ache of resignation can often trump despair.
The alternate arrangements all provide their differences in a way that few other mixes can. Rather than just appending a bigger kick drum and dub effect, each version reorients the listener’s perspective. The filmic arrangements which also provide a preview of C’batch’s forthcoming release, The Vault 4 – Cinematic, jettison the typical expectations for melodic climaxes and instead draw attention to the sonic subtleties, the spaces between musical phrases, and the ambient textures. Other versions shift focus to the rhythmic pulse, pulling the material closer to the dance floor without bludgeoning it into emotional neutrality.
The carefulness, the sheer restraint, is the EP’s most effective trait. It does not mistake busy-ness for richness.
It is not, admittedly, a safe proposition. If the title song doesn’t appeal to you on the first pass, you’ve effectively opted in for three additional, albeit varied, strolls through a building you may not have wished to enter in the first place. There is no place to hide when an entire release is dedicated to a single composition; each alternate version either illuminates something new or merely reinforces what you have already heard the first time around.
Fortunately, C’batch’s grasp of reinterpretative art stems from a realization that the goal is not to magnify a song, but to reframe our attention. This seems an increasingly rare principle in an era when virtually every release is algorithmically designed to garner maximum playlist placement rather than encourage attentive listening.
After all, the boldest act in music today isn’t writing four songs according to “Next Time (I Won’t Be Falling)” EP; it’s trusting one well-rendered one well enough to share it in four distinct ways.
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About the Author
A tenured media critic known working as a ghost writer, freelance critic for various publications around the world, the former lead writer of review blogspace Atop The Treehouse and content creator for Manila Bulletin.
