Nancy Wenstrom creates a deep and meaningful experience on her new track, Vintage Tears.
The best songwriters can not only tell a story and write a strong rhythm and melody in their music, but they can also play with ideas that really combine both. That’s exactly what Nancy Wenstrom has managed to do on track Vintage Tears, delving into a situation where a woman cared more for a man than he did for her and playing with this idea by entangling the music and lyrics in the perfect way.
Starting with a gentle yet playful country blues rhythm, acoustic guitar leads the way forward against a subtle yet commanding drum beat and harmonica to introduce the vocals. “The sky is getting blacker, the clouds are hanging low”, sings Nancy, building up the intensity and emotion littered throughout the track. With lyrics intertwined with a growing darkness due to the aforementioned relationship problems, the verses build into an emotional release.
The verses may be dark and stormy, but the chrouses feel much lighter. It feels directly linked to the idea that tears can be such an immense release of emotions stored up for a long time, and when they are let out you feel so much better. The chorus plays on this idea, with the sombre and dark tone of the verses completely lifted. It’s a clever feature that really boosts the song’s power and relevance.
Wenstrong not only knows who to play with complex ideas, but also knows how to hold back when necessary or grow ideas when needed. The verses are testament to this; although they do have that dark atmosphere, each time another verse comes along it feels slightly more upbeat with lyrics gradually coming out of their shell to show this. You can even hear it in the vocals which gradually open up as the song progresses and builds towards a fine harmonica solo.
Vintage Tears is a well-crafted track that shows off the talents of an expert songwriter. Nancy Wenstrom has really thought about how she could structure a track with such a deep and meaningful message and she has played the idea to perfection.
Score: 4/5
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