Vineet is taking the pop world by storm this summer, and it’s no wonder why when we give his new single, “Elevate,” a spin. “Elevate” is all about its flamboyantly funky beats, groove-oriented structure, and the dynamic way that Vineet delivers it to us, but what’s most interesting about this song has almost nothing to do with its cosmetic features.
Pop hasn’t had a lot of inventive voices in the last decade, but Vineet’s latest single is, essentially, something that’s intrepidly simple in an era that has been anything but, which makes it quite the diamond in the rough.
Nine. (9 Thrilling Stories. 9 Optimistic Songs), the last LP that Vineet dropped ahead of “Elevate,” was mixed with a lot of efficiency, and along with the utterly entrancing “Run! Run! Run!,” which was also released just this year, this song is the most experimental of its parent discography. The arrangement shows us that Vineet can think outside of the box, while the core melody demonstrates his ability to stay accessible to casual pop fans as well as serious audio fiends at the same time. I’d like to hear him toy with this concept even more on his next release because what he’s made here is Grade-A material.
There’s not that much emphasis on Vineet’s vocals in this song; the instrumentation gets just as much of the limelight as any of his verses do, and there are even a few occasions on which the harmonies tell us more of a story that the prose does. It’s multidimensional, which is something that I seldom see any more in contemporary pop music. If he can find a way to maintain this sound while adding a bit more pop polish to the finish, there’s a good chance that he could break into the mainstream a lot sooner than later.
These lyrics aren’t your typical pop poeticisms; actually, I think that they’re progressive enough to where they would translate just as well with casual indie fans as they would with Vineet’s target audience at the core of the American underground movement. There’s a relevant twist to his words; his modern verse is met with an immense passion in his delivery, and it never feels like he’s being fake with us or simply trying to make this beat a little less stock. Vineet is the real article, and better yet, he doesn’t arrogantly boast about being as much anywhere in his new collection of material making its way to the public right now.
Whether you’re big into pop or simply love a slick rhythm with a little extra pizazz on the end, “Elevate” is a hot track that you need to hear this month. Vineet is carving out his place in the hierarchy of underground pop stalwarts with his most recent offering, and so long as he stays away from the temptation to streamline his sound, he’s going to do just fine on the primetime stage. Judging from this content, he strikes me as a pretty self-aware artist, which is exactly what the style of music that he plays demands out of its very brightest stars.
Garth Thomas