I hear lies whenever I remove my headphones from people who are trying to sell me cheese, insurance, and the brand new political movements. I am suspicious of everyone who tries to stop me on the street to hand me a pamphlet. And if the doorbell rings in the middle of the afternoon, I try to restrain myself from answering. I am the modern man with all its tiny but unchanging fears.
But I let my guard down when reading the love poems of Coleridge or Keats. Even I smile when I pass by an old or young couple who seem to be united by genuine affection. And, more than anything else, I look for confirmation that the world isn’t all rotten when I search for new love songs. I’m wholly modern in those aspects as well.
Swedish singer-songwriter Titus Drott is one of the modern artists working to ensure we don’t wholly lose that hopefulness. At least, not now, in times of potential trouble, when we might be in the greatest need of it. Drott’s new EP, “Writing in the Dark,” deals with plenty of feelings – sadness, hope, excitement. But all of them have one thing in common: a search for love.
The EP’s opener, “Wonderful,” is a straight-ahead song love letter, a proclamation of one’s true feelings for someone. The smooth performance positions Drott as a songwriter in the same mold as laidback pop performers like Ed Sheeran or Hozier who have managed to win over so many admirers recently.
“I’m Alive” is a song about the fears that accompany those transitioning to maturity with all of its challenges. And the piano-lead “Hero” contains a dramatic chorus that approximates the challenges and dangers of heady love affairs.
Finally, “Stay Strong,” another piano ballad, tries to offer compassion to of those who have set out on these long and difficult journeys. Once more, it is Titus Drott’s controlled singing that helps sell the piece.
Pop songs about love may not seem like a very important thing. But talking about love publicly in an age of hate and division can be positively a revolutionary act these days.
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