Tampa-based songwriter and digital composer Bill Barlow takes another big creative step with "When He Speaks", the lead-off track from his latest album, The Bill Barlow Project. With a knack for observational forms of writing and the ability to take what seems to be mundane moments and spin them into very human-centered, relatable, authentic stories, Barlow has a song that is provocative yet impossibly relevant for that time.
"When He Speaks" starts with a rhythmic pulse that seizes you right away, then finds a place somewhere just under groove-centered instrumentation and lyrically sharp edge. The song features a rangy theme of the relationship between public figures and their audiences, an edgy and almost confrontational subject while Barlow does it with tongue-in-cheek adult wit and fearless honesty, the end product is a song that is as thought-provoking as it is catchy, and shows off another side of influence, perception, and every moment that exists in the culture today.
Both vocally and lyrically, Barlow invites comparisons to classic storytellers, specifically, Randy Newman and Paul Simon. However, unlike in those comparisons, Barlow has an urgency in his delivery that distinguishes him. This is a song that does more than entertain; it provokes thought about the power of the spoken (and sung) word and what it means to have that power.
In "When He Speaks", Bill Barlow continues to build a reputation as one of the more compelling observational songwriters in indie music, bringing sharp narratives to the sonic table and accompanying them in both vibrant and approachable soundscapes.
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