The backbone of almost any danceable song is the bassline, and that couldn’t be any truer than it is in the debut single from Dynamyte, “Show Me You.” From the beginning of this composition forward, there’s never a moment where the bass isn’t defining the groove with as much precision as the drums are – while leaving space for our singer’s exquisite lead vocal to colorize the rhythm with pristine crooning. Produced by her brother MkX (with whom she has played as Michael & Marisa, to much critical acclaim), “Show Me You” is Dynamyte’s first release as a solo artist, but you don’t have to be familiar with the music of M&M to recognize the level of skill and experience she brings with her into this swaggering new track.
CHECK OUT THE SINGLE: https://open.spotify.com/track/4MKeriVHmSLAwTKM8zJePh
Aside from the low-end tones here, which are quite fetching no matter what angle we’re analyzing them from, every component of the melody in “Show Me You” is tightly mixed as to shift all of our attention away from the grinding of the instrumental chaos and towards the velvet-soft voice at the center of all the action. Surreally stylized with a lot of jazz influences, the percussion is situated beside the vocal rather than under it, creating a thrust that propels both the verse forward as well as the rest of the harmony instead of merely turning out a beat for us to snap our fingers too. It’s complicated, yes, but certainly, a different scheme than I’ve been seeing out of Dynamyte’s mainstream competition.
You definitely don’t get the attention of artists like Christina Perri and Ariana Grande (both of whom have shared a concert bill with Michael & Marisa) without being pretty darn good at what you do. I’m very interested in hearing what Dynamyte is going to be developing with her new solo career, as it is unquestionably taking a one of a kind twist away from what she had been cultivating with her brother in her last project. I think that the unapologetically raw and unfiltered aesthetic that she’s applying to a contemporary soul sound is going to do amazing things with regards to winning over a new audience separate from the one she seduced as part of the M&M duo.
Kim Muncie