Mix Review: Video Age – Shadow On The Wall

Video Age has released a new single full of hooks, Shadow On The Wall. The song is just as addictive and danceable as their 2018 Pop Therapy. The new single was released on local label Winspear, with the promise of a forthcoming album.
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Video Age – Shadow On The Wall

Video Age has released a new single full of hooks, Shadow On The Wall. The song is just as addictive and danceable as their 2018 Pop Therapy. The new single was released on local label Winspear, with the promise of a forthcoming album.

Video Age

Video Age has taken their danceable pop sound and added funk. Ross Farbe and Ray Micarelli have been crafting their follow-up in their New Orleans home studio, with multi-instrumentalists Nick Corson and Duncan Troast joining the band. The production is cleaner, while also being more complex and intricate.

There’s so much to love about this song. The bass drives with a funk groove that sticks in your head. Each of the synth elements are distinctly placed with slight reverb, yet allowing for space between each layer. Guitar layers have a short slap delay, most pronounced at 1:56 where an electric guitar hook is nothing but pure ear candy. Layered hand claps during the chorus elevate the percussion (panned hard left and right, and slightly delayed toward the center). Vocals are nested in the mix, as an added melody to a song that has you moving. This is perfect pop.

Lyrically, the song is very timely during this pandemic, while many of us are facing fears we’ve never experience.

You’re just a shadow on the wall
They don’t mean nothing at all

Songwriter Ray Micarelli explains that Shadow On The Wall is, “a song about facing your fears. Although it can be tempting to give in to what’s plaguing you, funky self expression is one way to rise above the fog and see what’s real.”

Winspear is an impressive label based in Bloomington, Indiana, and New York City. Their lineup includes artists such as Barrie,  Slow Pulp, Divino Niño, Amy O, Kevin Krauter. They’re great people who have the artist’s interests in mind. Video Age is very fortunate to be working with them.

You can find Shadow On The Wall on: Bandcamp, Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Music.

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Kevin Flick
Kevin Flick

Kevin Flick founded Puddlegum in 1997 and has been engaging in music journalism off and on since. He's also a recording/mixing engineer and loves to help bands work through the creative process. He has coproduced and mixed for artists such as Saeyers, Midi Memory, and Cathedral Bells.

Rumors are that he's a Brighton Hove & Albion FC fan. He's also obsessed with coffee. Kevin resides in the college community of Bloomington, Indiana, where he studied at Indiana University.

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