"Solace" Original Song by RUNAGROUND

Hello again, JUKEBOXERS!! It's Jewel with another review for the Original Song Series. This week, I'll be writing about "Solace" by RUNAGROUND. You may remember him when I wrote about his cover collab with Alex G of "Team" by Lorde (click here to read my previous review and for more about RUNAGROUND).

Okay, you know the drill!! At this moment, I'm listening to the song for only the second time. In my opinion, it sounds heavily influenced by Daughtry and OneRepublic, not that that's a bad thing. His vocals encompass a wide range, but the actual sound of his voice is a very common male voice. There was something that bothered me the first time I listened to the song: his breaths. While I understand that the fact you can hear his breaths may mean there are less effects on his voice, I don't appreciate how it sounds. Others may disagree, but I feel it's unnecessary, but of course, there is really no way to sing without breathing. That's really all I can come up with for what I don't like about this song, so moving on...

Now onto what I feel are the best parts of this song!! First, the lyrics are well-written and not completely repetitive. For now, my favorite line in this song is in the bridge, when he sings, "We are made of our mistakes". As you recall, I love it when songs are about more than just unrequited love, sex, drugs, and other such "surface" topics. This is deep. "We are made of our mistakes" is a line to contemplate. After all, it's not the action, but the reaction that takes it's toll on us. My interpretation of this line is that we choose what we do when we make mistakes, which is why our mistakes make us.

Next, I applaud how he goes from low to high notes, especially when it's in one word. In my experience, I've discovered how hard it really is to pull that off, so I'm really envious of vocalists who can do it. Another reason I like his vocals is the fact that I can actually hear his voice and not the effects placed on his voice. I can even hear the parts when his voice is weaker, and instead of editing, he simply added a layer of harmonization. Speaking of harmonization, I'm impressed that he sang this song without very much of it. So many people mask their voices in harmonies, but he decided to go without it for this song. I like it because I can hear how truly powerful his voice is.

In conclusion, another song I wish to hear on the radio.

Here's the official music video:

And instead of lyrics, here's the lyric video:

Rating: 5 RECORDS

Photo: Facebook - RUNAGROUND