Light Shadows flawlessly hits the nail on the head again with their gothic interpretation and arrangement of Dusty Springfield's classic performance of Spooky.
In the first twenty-five seconds, Light Shadows ease their way instrumentally into your eardrum with a silky, wide bassline, tight-centered beat, bells, and a touch of marimba that bounces from speaker to speaker. The intro summons you into a mysterious, spooky, and enchanting realm. Light Shadows has a knack for setting the mood through engaging delivery laced up with, warm, and rich tones. In my experience, being able to bring about the type of sonic imagery that is fresh and captivates the listener with ease is no easy task especially if it involves a cover song. When it comes to originals and covers Light Shadows never disappoint.
After the first twenty-five seconds, a sharp crash/snare introduces the driving synth melody and preps the way for Cassandra's vocals to seal the deal. This is what I like and anticipate when cover songs are done well. You will instantly know if it's good if the lead-up to vocals is solid and straightforward while adding something new in every couple of measures. I will have to tip my hat to Philip in this area.
If At thirty-five seconds is where the vocal comes in with a thick, creamy, dark, and ambient, cathedral-like sound. Cassandras' performance fills up the room in a powerful ghostly manner and fits perfectly into the arrangement. I am a huge fan of vocal throwbacks and reverb washes and at one minute and forty-two seconds mark if you listen close after Cassandra belts out the word Spooky and holds on to the sometimes vowel sound of y it then bleeds into some sort of screech-like howl which I thought was very cool.
One of my favored sounds of this arrangement is the wicked, nasty synth solo that has a gritty, crunchy, curdling, sci-fi swirling type of effect, and the first hint of this madness is introduced at fifty-one seconds. At one minute twenty-one is where it begins to take off. Imagine the launch pad being Cassandras' vocals building the anticipation of the launch and then eventually slingshotting, Philip's solo into the forefront. Most definitely one of my favorite sounds of the year. The final sound that stood out would have to be the organ that is saturated in a dark ominous type of reverb that creeps in at the two-minute mark. The organ had its place carved out in the mix which is what makes it stick out as kind of a mile marker of sorts and lets the listener know the song is close to coming to a resolution. Great use of song structure. This is the type of stuff that keeps one on the edge of their seat when listening to music in general, it feels genuine and authentic almost like an unmanufactured everyday conversation. I like to call it ear candy.
The vibe of Spooky is chill, clever, and intelligent. The dark electro and gothic vibes go well together. This rendition of Spooky is a chef-d'oeuvre and one to be enjoyed by all.
Spooky Credits
Main Artist • Light Shadows
Vocals • Cassandra Vincent
Composer • Buddy Buie, Harry Middlebrooks, Mike Shapiro
Producer/Mix • Philip Peters
Master Justin Michael Tallman