“Say So” is the debut single from Lakes, an up and coming pop artist out of Montreal. This two-faced record will take your senses – and your emotions – on a trip.
“Say So” is about finally pulling the plug on a relationship that was destined to end in heartbreak. Lakes’ voice relates this experience so masterfully, hardly ever rising above a heavy whisper and mesmerizing the listener with every syllable. “If you’re letting me go/Why don’t you say so?” Just the delivery of that phrase alone prompts countless emotions – agony, apathy, fear, relief; it feels like you’re in the room and you’ve just witnessed this moment, and the tension is crippling. The production to this point has been slow and immensely atmospheric, creating a fragile calmness that could be shattered with one wrong move.
There’s no way you could have anticipated the other side of this record, as we’re suddenly bombarded by a synth melody straight out of an Afrojack record. This is a pop record after all, albeit from a captivating storyteller rather than your typical pop starlet. It’s a little tease of late-2000s nostalgia that is a juxtaposition from the somber serenity of the prior 60 seconds, but it’s not out of place. It gives this song extra depth and makes it more than just another breakup song. It aids the story rather than distracting from it.
On her debut single, Lakes has stated her case as to why she belongs on your playlist immediately. Everything on this track works perfectly together to add several dimensions to an already heavy topic and if you let it take you on this ride, the payoff is one of the most satisfying tracks you’ve heard in awhile.
Written by Tim Clark
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