The incredible string play Asher Laub puts forth from behind the violin in his new single “Dreaming Awake” isn’t just a centerpiece for the song; it’s a source of vitality that essentially replaces the need for lyrics altogether. Rather than trying to approach us with a lot of played-out poeticisms that we’ve heard across the pop spectrum from scores of players on either side of the Atlantic, Laub is communicating both tonally and texturally in this performance whilst reminding us that true melodicism never has to be complicated – it just has to be precise. “Dreaming Awake” is everything its title says it could be and more on this front, offering us a picture-perfect view of what surgical execution and endearing emotional play can produce in the right circumstances.
URL: www.asherlaub.com/
This arrangement required a lot of dexterity on everyone’s part, but especially that of Laub. He isn’t just filling the gaps between the beats with a lot of color where there would otherwise be none; he’s creating an extension of the tension in the bassline much as he is a counter to the rigidity of the groove, and both actions are influencing how we’re made to understand the subtext of “Dreaming Awake” as an instrumental track. It takes nothing to rehearse a virtuosic performance, but actually telling us a story through the melding of melodies and physicality is a skill that can’t be learned in any school, as evidenced by the stunning performance that this player gives us in his new single.
Dreaming Awake
Listen to Dreaming Awake on Spotify. Asher Laub · Single · 2021 · 1 songs.
“Dreaming Awake” boasts quite the blunt groove, but Laub is definitely able to manage it with the harmony he’s cutting beside the bassline. There are a couple of spots where it feels like everything is getting ready to come apart, but those are the moments in which he seems to become more aggressive with his play intentionally. Melodicism is quite obviously his main objective at all times, and I think that while there are a lot of different routes he could have taken in accomplishing his larger goal with this single, he was wise to take the more detail-centric path. It’s producing a marvelously shapely piece here, and hinting at realized ambitions some of this artist’s peers would only ever fantasize about bringing to life.
DOWNLOAD: found.asherlaub.com/dreamingawake
Asher Laub is going his own way in 2021 and beyond, and from where I’m sitting I think it would be safe to say that he doesn’t have any issues challenging the standard for both himself and the scene that breathed life into his career to begin with. He’s raising the bar exponentially with songs like “Dreaming Awake,” and given the lack of stimulating songcraft some of the other players he’s competing with have been struggling to supply us, this is the right time for him to be making a move towards the spotlight. It’s a competitive time in popular music, but it’s clear this is one player who doesn’t need to do very much to attract the right kind of audience to stick by his side.
Clay Burton