This summer, ahead of the release of his debut album, Dane Maxwell is wowing critics with his cutting-edge pop grooves, as they’re exemplified in the amazing single “Where I’m Seen,” but there’s a whole lot more to his sound than sexy vocals and bombastic beats alone. Indeed, “Where I’m Seen” is a groove-filled jam that didn’t need an especially talented singer to breathe life into its striking framework, but it got a vocalist whose skillset goes above and beyond what it would have needed to get a huge share of attention this season. Dane Maxwell serenades us with eruptive verses about his mission to triumph over bullying, and as much as I love the rhythm of the track, it’s the words that keep me coming back for more again and again. Maxwell has a lot going for him, and it’s all on the table for us to enjoy in “Where I’m Seen,” which is evocative on more levels than anything else I’ve heard out of the American indie underground lately has been.
SPOTIFY: open.spotify.com/album/23FZyYnJ4jEmgQpWm6CgQX
The nightly news has been flooded with tragic tales of school shootings and teen suicides in the last few years, and there is no question who the ultimate culprit for this somberness has been the whole time – bullying, in all of its evil forms. Dane Maxwell doesn’t address specific incidents by name in “Where I’m Seen,” but his jarring lead-in to the chorus resonates heavily with the most recent headlining stories that I’ve caught a glimpse of on cable news recently. He describes isolation with a painfully raw style of singing that at times makes the otherwise attractive melodicism of his voice hard for us to digest, but we’re unable to turn away from his crooning just the same. The music is just as tear-jerking and pronounced in emotionality when we listen to it through the lens of the lyrics and their stoic narrative, which is one that doesn’t take a graduate degree in English to understand at face value. “Where I’m Seen” gets a reaction out of us, one way or another, and doesn’t allow for audiences to walk away from its harmonies without thinking about the ripple effect of their attitudes toward humanity.
Whatever Dane Maxwell sings about next, I’m planning on being there to give it a listen. He’s melted my heart with “Where I’m Seen,” and whether we’re looking at it for its sensational string arrangement, blushing beats, acoustic pleasantries or lyrical lambasting, it’s a song that demands as much respect as its writer does. Artists like Maxwell don’t come around very often, and if he ends up being as successful in music as he was as a young entrepreneur (having raked in over seven figures by the time he reached thirty years of age), then his message of friendship and understanding is going to reach a generation of listeners who perhaps need it more than any other to come before them. “Where I’m Seen” is required food for thought that plays well for pop and rock fans alike, and it’s one of my favorite new singles of the year.
Clay Burton
The music of DANE MAXWELL has been heard all over the world due to the promotional services offered by Danie Cortese Entertainment & Publicity. Learn more here – www.daniecorteseent.com/