From London, UK, Vorsen manufactured a strikingly eccentric single that makes contrasting use of acoustic vocalizations and vibey Alt-Pop instruments welded in vintage post-production effects. The song in question is named half as much and it’s authentically rooted in the songwriter’s own life experience: “half as much is all about the ending of a relationship. When you get to the point you realize it’s one-sided. In all honesty, I was getting treated like sh*t by this person. I was gaslighted and became the emotional support for someone who never reciprocated it. While the song is obviously melancholic, I wanted it to reflect the cathartic feeling I had of knowing that going my separate way was really for the best.”
Generating a brooding atmosphere, the first synth coming into the picture lands heavy with the omnipresent delayed reverb. A bit like the ’80s organ, a bit like the ’90s romantic ballads, half as much kicks things off on a peculiar artistic tone: I feel/ I’m sinking with the weight of my shoulders/ And I feel/ I’m dying for the air that I sold you. Eesh! That last line is worthy of being framed. The retro acoustic treatment oozes the creative impulse of making the record resemble an old tune that won’t be swayed in any shape or form by the ever-changing tides of the music charts. A smart choice indeed and definitely falling in line with the biblical fidelity of the morose emotional structure of the song.
So tired of waking up/ Hoping I did enough/ Another year older/ Is this the final hour/ Oh will I make it out/ Or do it all over, can be heard a lot more supporting vocals thus the anticipation for the hook is growing and overtaking the sonic experience.
And with a most surprising electro-peppered dance-imbued instrumental, Verson takes the audience into the stickiest part of the song: ‘Cause your love is half as much/ As I’m giving out/ As I’m giving out/ And you know I’ll miss your touch/ Can you give it now?/ Can you give it now? Think of 2013 when Disclosure was the sh*t and their music made you FEEL stuff. Now it’s meh. We can only hope and pray Verson will continue making epic music like half as much.
I hate/ I hate the way you drown out my conscience/ But I’ll break/ I’ll break the days of living with caution/ Oh ’cause I should have known/ Semblance has overgrown/ Now that I’m sober/ ‘Cause when you flood the fire/ You leave me with no desire/ To do it all over, beautifully sings Verson using some daunting metaphorical depictions of the relationship’s dynamic.
The trance-inducing hook hits the listener with sexiness and playful push-and-pull synths going around in loops evoking a spell-like composition. Towards the closing part of half as much, some magical ooh-ooohs become louder and louder embalming the senses in comfort and suspense. Maybe if you hit the replay button, something clearer will come out of the lyrics?ù
half as much, while charmingly distinctive for its time, effortlessly lures in Alt-Pop fans for it abides by a decades-long tested combination: very real vocals with very artificial instruments sharply catapulting one another into the spotlight.
Song Credits: Oliver Halvorsen (Vorsen) – Artist, Songwriter, Music Producer; Andrew Lawson – Mixing Engineer; William Bowden – Mastering Engineer.
Make sure you support Vorsen by streaming half as much on Amazon Music HERE, YouTube Music HERE, Apple Music HERE, Deezer HERE, and on Spotify below:
Written by Mariana Berdianu
Blue Rhymez Entertainment ©2022
Blue Rhymez Entertainment 