Susan Calloway – Time for This

Susan Calloway – Time for This 

URL: https://www.susancalloway.com/

Susan Calloway is an enormous talent, a continually rising star. Her contribution to the Final Fantasy video game brand, a track entitled “Answers”, resonated so powerful with those who heard it that it scored Calloway a surprise indie hit. Her quick rise is enabled, in part, but her creative partner and producer Gerard Smerek. His presence and musical instincts help shape “Time for This” into the impressive emotional and aural experience it results in for listeners. This clearly represents Calloway upping her musical game and the head-turning presence she provides through the performance is certainly to elevate her professional profile several rungs. “Time for This” is impressive from start to finish and has a masterful build capable of enchanting any listener. She uses her voice as a tool to open her heart and we are lucky to be afforded a glimpse. 

“Time for This” has music that unwinds itself in a patient, considered fashion and carried largely by beautifully melodic piano lines. There’s some sparse additional accompaniment courtesy of some shadowy synthesizer swells but this is, otherwise, strictly a duet between the ivories and Calloway’s voice. The intensity of the piano playing rises at key points, but it also knows when to weave complementary countermelodies to Calloway’s performance. The vocal and piano never conform in total lockstep and the resulting tension from that lack gives this performance much of its dramatic value. The piano wisely never attempts to compete with Calloway’s voice; instead, it serves the song by tailoring itself to the vocal. The resulting completeness from this decision is a key element in helping put this track over with the audience. 

The lynchpin for everything, however, is Calloway’s vocal. Her command of phrasing coupled with her talents for embodying the song’s emotional tenor help her own the mature and well-written lyric. More than anything else, however, the brevity of the line pairs up quite nicely with the words and creates an immensely theatrical effect Calloway’s voice can male great use of. She does. “Time for This” succeeds on her talents, primarily, and the way she owns both the lyric and arrangement alike sets a tone for her career to follow. It also sets the bar extraordinarily high for future recordings.  

The words have the ring of truth. Calloway is obviously, based on this single and past work alike, an artist committed to capturing life’s experiences in a honest way. The lyrics for this track are never overwritten, but instead show great care in choosing just the right words for Calloway to delineate this experience. Susan Calloway’s latest single “Time for This” does a fantastic job of building on the success of “Answers” while still expanding her artistic vision. This is a singer with the talent to stick around for many years to come and it is clear her work ethic will never hinder her from receiving the opportunities deserved by top flight talent. This is a powerful performer with just the right material to succeed.  

SPOTIFY: https://play.spotify.com/track/7zx1tCzBanP1NZK0NIV930?play=true&utm_source=open.spotify.com&utm_medium=open 

Montey Zike