With a sturdy foundation from the beat, bd Gottfried’s “Live, Fight & Die” kicks into gear on the back of a memorable string melody that is as glowing as it is effervescent. The rhythm is relaxed, but there’s an underlying sense of urgency in the music pouring out of our speakers so seamlessly. In this colorful, guitar-powered release, texture and tonality are as important as lush lyricism and a sensational lead singer’s vocal is, and beneath the layers of rich audio that comprise the master mix we find a storyteller in bd Gottfried whose way with words goes unmatched this season.
URL: https://www.bdgottfried.com/
“Live, Fight & Die” is a multifaceted composition that wasn’t designed to change the world as we know it, but it undisputedly tells us a lot about the artist responsible for its creation. From the guitars that meet us at the onset of the track to the heavenly vocal harmonies that signal the song’s ultimate conclusion, this is a hard piece to put down once you’ve given it a spin for the first time.
As powerful as the backdrop is, the verses that Gottfried casually dispenses against the rollicking beat are perhaps the most striking component in “Live, Fight & Die.” He’s vulnerable in every lyric here, and he does a brilliant job of articulating some of the images in his mind through pop-rock poetry that fits the style of music here really well.
The relationship between his vocal and the guitar melodies is pivotal to the construction of the hook in this song, and were they not managed as well as they were in the mix, I don’t know that “Live, Fight & Die” would be nearly as engaging and evocative as it is in this present state. Together with his string section, Gottfried demonstrates the ability to channel all of his emotions into a single harmony – a difficult feat for any artist – that gives greater meaning to the narrative no matter how many times we listen to the song. It’s gripping, unapologetically provocative, and unlike anything else I’ve been listening to this March.
bd Gottfried turns sharp, well-defined material in this new single and leaves his audience curious for more content soon. There are a lot of ways to look at “Live, Fight & Die;” it’s a confessional, a retrospective, and, sometimes, a bit of a daydream set to some charming melodies that are familiar yet completely original in spirit. I for one would like to think of it as one man’s means of celebrating a life well-spent, and a career that made a genuine impact without ever disrupting the natural flow of history.
Gottfried’s got a lot to prove to the establishment if he wants to break the mainstream, and as far as I’m concerned, this is a truly engrossing release that sets a high standard for everything he records in the studio from here on out. He’s moving in the right direction in this composition, and after you give it a listen for yourself, I think you’ll be inclined to agree with me.
Kim Muncie