A lot of pop singers are adopting more indulgent tones in their songwriting, but this just can’t be said of the one and only Barry Muir. His new single, elaborately titled “Home In A New York Minute,” is a concise, unfanciful shot of vitality to the indie pop/rock model. The stagnant pseudo-postmodernity of a tired alternative music scene isn’t present in this track – in its place, we’ve got a clean-cut vocal harmony and acrylic beats that frame it all too elegantly. “Home In A New York Minute” is a look at what pop can sound like when its foundations are left untouched by the overeager hands of a modern generation, and I for one think it’s among the best new songs out at the moment.
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Efficiency is everywhere we look in this track, but I would point out that there isn’t anything here that feels barren in tone. Tonality is one of the most liberally-appropriated elements to behold in “Home In A New York Minute;” though raw parts are providing the main rhythmic center in the song, they don’t come off as being over-the-top in the least.
They encourage us to listen to the vocal even more closely than we already would have; amid all the understated chaos transpiring in this single, Barry Muir’s voice is the beacon of warmth guiding us through the impending storm.
Aside from the compositional integrity of “Home In A New York Minute,” Muir’s delivery is spot-on smooth, especially when considering that this is his latest release as a singer and songwriter. He sounds so comfortable in the booth here; from the moment he begins to croon to the very instant he disappears into the silence alongside the instrumentation, he’s confident and lets us know how unafraid of anything he truly is. This guy has an X-factor that makes a big difference in the pop genre, especially in an era that has been as filled with competition as this one has been.
The equalization on the vocal is a little streamlined for what I would normally go for in a new pop song, but I can understand why Muir would decide to go with this concept instead of something different. In sticking to a sleek design with the incorporation of the vocal track in “Home In A New York Minute,” he’s able to preserve the minimalist vibe of the harmony without having to sacrifice any of the natural grit existing in his raw singing. He thought every detail of this track through, and that’s obvious even in the most cursory listening sessions.
Although contemporary times have made it easy to spend hours checking out new music, I don’t think you’re likely to hear another player like Barry Muir no matter how much browsing you do this month. Genre-labeling is becoming increasingly irrelevant as the years go by, and if there’s anybody who doesn’t care about fitting into an aesthetical box right now, it’s this artist. He’s got a boundless musicality that is on display for the whole planet to enjoy in “Home In A New York Minute,” and if he can keep this ball rolling, he’s going to keep scaling the underground hierarchy with an enviable endurance.
Kim Muncie