Try Not To Romanticize

Fousheé “Still Around”

Here’s a song with an usual set of tensions – busy percussion, an even busier bass line taking up most of the space, minimal keyboard accents, and a relatively mellow acoustic guitar groove by Steve Lacy that’s so Steve Lacy it made me go “is this Steve Lacy?” the first time I heard it. The mood is fairly placid and meditative, but that aggressive and chunky bass line puts the whole track on edge. It’s almost like transplanting a post-punk bass part into a fairly chill Marvin Gaye song. Fousheé’s vocals stay on the more relaxed side of the composition, emotive in her R&B inflections but still a little reserved. The lyrics suggest a situation where she’s reaching out to someone she loves but is unclear where they stand with her, and whether or not they want to stay in her life. She sounds optimistic and open-hearted, but once you key into the words it’s hard not to hear that bass rumble as her barely concealed angst.

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