Turn the lights down low and chill, or hop in the car and tear down the road – whatever your mood, Devon Gilfillian “All I Really Wanna Do” and The Heavy Heavy “Miles and Miles” have got you covered! Both are available this Thursday in the Rock Band Music Store.
“All I Really Wanna Do” from genre-bending R&B singer/songwriter Devon Gilfillian’s second LP, 2023’s Love You Anyway find’s the Philadelphia-born, Nashville-based multi-instrumentalist in top form.
Kicking off with a slinky, ‘70s groove, the first 36 seconds of the track is primarily Gilfillian’s delay-rich vocals vamping on the chorus over a casually shuffling drum part, deliberate bass line, keys, and clean guitar. The verse then brings the six-string work more to the fore, while the bassist busts out a deliciously contrapuntal line. During this portion of “All I Really Wanna Do,” the FX are dialed back on Gilfillian’s singing, making the lyrical content and vocal delivery more immediate and personal. We’re back to the refrain again at 1:06, after the briefest (but very effective) pre-chorus, and the laid-back, chill atmosphere only amplifies with each note.
Following the second chorus, at 2:44, the cut reaches its very economical (only 10 seconds!) “middle section” – a moment of spare guitar strumming and harmonics over rich, gospel-tinged background vocals and Gilfillian’s joyful chanting – before we return for a double-dose of the now-firmly-embedded-in-your-subconscious sultry refrain. At 3:31 all percussion leaves the soundscape, leaving only vocals and sparse guitar and keys.
Lyrically, “All I Really Wanna Do” celebrates the myriad potential for joy and personal growth at any given day, any given time – and not wasting those possibilities. As Gilifillian said upon the song’s release, “'All I Really Wanna Do' is an anthem for living in the moment. It’s a song about taking a chance on love, on life, and on exploring yourself. It’s about being weird with the one you love and knowing that being yourself is enough." He expands: "I want people to listen to this song and forget – even for a second – the sad things going on around the world. I want them to be reminded of the beauty and joy we have around us, as long as we’re looking and open to receive."
The gorgeous groove and breezy vibe of “All I Really Wanna Do” represent a fully realized integration of soul, hip-hop, and rock into Gilfillian’s R&B essence. There’s a reason why this guy’s career has been skyrocketing of late! Expect to hear much more from this young musical force, but for now, you can sit back, turn the volume up, and chill out to this track over and over (and over!).
The debut single from The Heavy Heavy’s 2022 EP, Life and Life Only, “Miles and Miles,” displays the Brighton, UK-based duo’s (Will Turner and Georgie Fuller) adeptness at crafting upbeat, incandescent rock and roll.
A peppy hi-hat pattern sets the stage at the track’s beginning, with jangly guitars added soon after. The picture broadens at the 16-second mark, with sunny, retro-vibe keys (Farfisa, I’m guessing?) added. Fuller’s soulful vocals join less than half a minute later, soon joined by Turner’s glorious harmonies. Where one might expect the first chorus to land is, instead, a chance to revisit the nifty guitar figure from the very beginning of “Miles and Miles,” dovetailing into the second verse – this time leaning into the strong vocal harmonies from the get-go. At 2:00, the bridge is defined by soaring slide guitars over a new chord progression and underneath a distinctly different melody sung by Turner and Fuller. This is one of those rare cuts without any clear-cut “chorus,” per se. It’s a composition and performance that exists to be enjoyed in the moment, traditional arrangement be damned, and both the lyrical content and song structure reinforce that notion. What we have here is a song for, and about, the long haul – this is a road trip song for the present-day. “‘Miles and Miles’ is about driving across the country, trying to get from place to place – free and easy but with real energy and motion," Fuller stated via press release. “It was inspired by… this fantasy of racing down the highway. It’s fuel for the listeners’ imagination – whatever that may be… we wanted it to feel like a dream."
The recording succeeds on that front, but transcends even such lofty aspirations. “Miles and Miles” is a gloriously hazy, euphoric romp that’s all fuzzy guitars and familial harmonies. As we pass further into winter’s cold embrace, an up-tempo, sun-soaked banger like this is precisely what the doctor ordered!
Devon Gilfillian “All I Really Wanna Do” and The Heavy Heavy “Miles and Miles” will be available Thursday! Each of these scorchers can now be yours for $1.99 each.
· Devon Gilfillian – “All I Really Wanna Do”
· The Heavy Heavy – “Miles and Miles”
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*Please note that this week’s DLC tracks will be available for purchase on Thursday, October 26th.