Rachel DeeLynn’s new single “Can You Hear Me Now?” accelerates her inexorable ascent into the stratosphere of modern music. It serves to notify anyone who believes that rock music is dead without wallowing in a miasma of hoary, tired cliches. Furthermore, DeeLynn’s personal songwriting touch, which is unquestionably autobiographical, fuels the single with added urgency.
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It isn’t her first rodeo, but it’s close. She’s nearing completion of her debut EP and has well-regarded live appearances under her belt, and major record companies are taking note. However, there’s no question that “Can You Hear Me Now?” burns at a higher temperature than she’s reached before. Her collaborators are sympathetic. Producer Tyler Skye frames her voice and songwriting in the best possible light while also assuming guitar and bass playing responsibilities. Mason Davis’ guitar contributions are equally important, and Chris Rayner’s powerful muscular drumming resists bombast. DeeLynn’s veteran talents belie her age, and she’s growing increasingly confident with each new outing.
The relatively brief running time of the song reveals DeeLynn’s guiding aesthetic. This isn’t pretentious music. It embraces a familiar alternative rock sound, boisterous yet clearly crafted, and the striding main riff hooks listeners from the outset. DeeLynn understands that modern popular music cannot be business as usual; musicians are one type of myriad artists in multiple forms vying for the audience’s attention. She’s beholden to holding a listener’s increasingly scant attention and succeeds monstrously well.
The wild rock singer/songwriter is a bit of a mirage. DeeLynn has chops for days. A trained musician and Berklee College of Music graduate, she shares co-writing credit for this song with two others, but don’t let that mislead you. It’s all Rachel DeeLynn and she’s responsible for the subtle, canny construction giving “Can You Hear Me Now?” such a dramatic edge.
Instrumental breaks are relatively contained. The track’s aforementioned brevity means the spotlight lingers longest on DeeLynn’s voice, as it should. Skye and Davis’ six-string riffing and other interjections are complementary instead of contrasting; they underline her emotional trajectory with exclamatory verve. The music supplies a high-octane vehicle for DeeLynn’s defiance and disenchantment.
It’s as memorable of a kiss-off song as you’ll hear in recent memory. Her voice soars, rants, cajoles, laments, and blasts listeners with incandescent range buttressed by Skye’s added post-production effects. “Can You Hear Me Now?” is a prime-time example of modern rock, yes, but it’s undeniably theatrical. It’s another mark of DeeLynn’s superb instincts, well beyond her years, that she never overplays her hand.
Instead, “Can You Hear Me Now?” straddles two worlds. It is unshakably youthful, giving off blinding sparks, and often breathing fire as it thunders towards its inevitable conclusion. It is, likewise, unmistakably measured, never biting off more than it can chew, throwing piercing broadsides at its subject and potential listeners with withering accuracy. Rachel DeeLynn, based out of Nashville, is marching into 2025 with a blistering new single that promises to open countless opportunities for this world-class singer, songwriter, and performer. If it’s your first time encountering her, keep coming back. Things are starting to get really, really good.
Garth Thomas