
Originally Published: January 26, 2020
If you are wondering what Brooklyn sounds like, just go listen to Paulina Vo’s newest single, “Shades Down.”
The young indie musician has somehow captured the very sound of a late-20-something or early-30-something subculture of America who have found themselves, in some ways, completely lost and, in other ways, not needing to be found at all. This gaggle of misfits and all of their ideas of life and love, of being loud but wanting no one to hear us, of everyone being unique that no one stands out (and no wants to,) and all the spaces of the high/low extremes we claim, is packed into a single song that runs just over four short minutes. It’s ridiculously good.
Vo’s “Shades Down” starts with this bold, kind of intense, and frankly aggressive first line. It scared me at first, but then nearly immediately grew on me, and now I like – no, love it. It’s in your face with no apologies, giving a kick start to a fairly tender song. The song definitely has its own blues influence. You can hear snapping as a means to set rhythm, as well as a very slow tempo. The keyboard adds to this and it’s just all around well put together. The opening line, which is played throughout as another means to set the beat of the song, plays at appropriate measures, and really works well to speed up the song. It is welcomed as it assures the song is not sluggish. It also tells a very interesting story.
Also impeccable is Vo’s voice. It is, as always, just beautiful, and it’s clear she works to keep it fresh and exciting. She has certainly come a long way since her first album “Stranger with the Green Sleeves,” as “Shades Down” is soulfully different than the Los Angeles influences of “Ms. Vo (Cool Enough)” and “The Ballet of Sophie and Pierre.” Vo has grown a lot and it’s very apparent in this single. She’s certainly grown quite a bit since her days of being just a girl with a guitar, as she was when I first met her in 2002. Her voice takes your breath away and it’s no surprise to hear she has been continuing her vocal education with on-going lessons, as we learned in our interview with her.
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Attempting to sing along quite literally left me breathless. What Vo does with ease, I struggled to do, despite my many attempts. It obvious who the musician here is.
“Shades Down” also demonstrates vulnerability that isn’t always heard in today’s music but certainly is a trademark of Vo. Heartfelt and tender, Vo feels those emotions and lets you in on it.
The song’s overall tone is majestic and just plain provocative. The lyrics are dangerously relatable, because we’ve all been there, stuck in a moment of being angry and being miserable and then just deciding one day we can’t be any of that anymore. We have all been proud that we have decided to move on to get up, brush ourselves off, and choose to be better. She makes it obvious that she is not broken, stating so quite directly in a New York in-your-face way. I found it lovely.
This is sure to be a hit, but Ms. Vo best be careful, as she is walking a fine line and could be putting herself in danger of no longer being an indie musician at all. Rather, she may just pull the mainstream into her domain with “Shades Down.”
Overall: 4.5/5 stars
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