How Things Could Be Completely Different

Andy Shauf “Don’t Let It Get to You”

“Don’t Let It Get to You” is built around a soft piano part that seems like an eternal loop of someone pausing and then stepping back, forever trapped in a pensive moment. It’s a song that seems to exist in the space between the aftermath of something and the start of some other, unknown new direction. Andy Shauf keeps the lyrics minimal, mostly setting up the POV of someone getting used to the notion that someone they knew would leave has left, and letting that piano part and occasional synthesizer buzzes carry the feeling of emptiness, light confusion, and vague relief. That buzzing sound is a particularly inspired part of the arrangement – it’s a sharp contrast with the acoustic guitar and piano, and makes the whole song feel more disoriented and lost.

Buy it from Bandcamp.