Review of “I Am the One” by Noah James Mass

A sustained note on electric piano – quiet, slow, before anything else comes in. Noah James Mass begins “I Am the One” with a breath of fresh air.

For a bit, just keys and a light beat under Mass' vocals, but when the guitar finally leans in, it truly changes the atmosphere. His guitar is offset, with a rough edge that is befitting of the blues undertow throughout.

I like this build for being patient. When bass comes in, the background vocals fill in, and the drums move from loose to locked. Nothing rushes. Every new part is earned and not added for effect.

The words dance around a reiterated line, one that continually points at someone else, an outward-pointing ache. Then near the end it comes back to the same phrase, but it sounds different when you're aware of the change. It's a minor adjustment in the name of the song, but it's a huge shift in the meaning.

Noah sings as if not yet finished, not yet thought out. He is low to the mic in quieter moments, but once the music is in, he opens up, and that variation doesn't need a lyric to make an impact.

The sound is also a bit rough and real, like a real room and hands playing on a real instrument and not a screen! The drums in particular are loose, but never rigid. Everything is in place and in motion by the final minute, guitar and organ jostling for position, the song's in the mood. It doesn't come to a resolution, it comes.

The hook stayed with me, it was a good one though. That turn towards the end of the song when it doesn't make mention of anyone but says the simple word. Simple, but a long track to arrive at it.