Richer Unsigned – Helping you find your new favourite singer…
Lincolnshire born singer-songwriter Sam Hockaday is the man behind this week’s track of the week. Unrequited is as heart-on-sleeve a broken love song as you’ll find. Its dark lyrics perfectly portraying the feelings of regret, loss and even hatred upon the inevitable sighting of a former love. 23 year old Hockaday was a late starter, musically speaking, picking up his first guitar at 18. His assuredness belies his relative lack of experience. The deep, rich tone of his vocals put years on him (in a nice way!), and suit the style beautifully.
Done wrong, this kind of track can wallow in its own misery too much for its own good. Going too sparse can take the music into an uncomfortable bleakness. Fortunately, the sardonic lyrics here are backed by dense instrumentation. Minor-chord progressions abound, with reverb soaked guitar and vocals moving along to a steady beat. Occasional short bursts of piano chords chime beautifully in and out of the mix.
Hockaday‘s guitar playing, too, is understated. The bridge allowing space for the track to breathe, but without becoming overly-technical and risking losing the mood and tone of the piece.
Have a listen, and if you like what you hear head on over to Richer Unsigned to help propel Sam up the chart. Whilst you are there, why not check out some of the other tracks featured? Who knows, your vote could be the deciding one that wins the artist studio time, a place at our exclusive industry showcase gig, exposure in Q Magazine, or more…
