Back at the start of 2020, right back in January, Coronavirus was something we were only hearing about on the news, SLAP Magazine were still printing physical copies of their awesome magazine and Max Stockin was releasing his first solo single “Better To Burn”.
Then the pandemic hit us, SLAP went online and the world stopped. 2020, often billed as the year that never was. Or rather, almost never was….
Neither the music, nor Max stopped. Songs were inspired by, and born during the various lockdowns. Max himself, released 3 more solo tracks in 2020, and also a collaboration with former band mate Ryan McMey.
With several songs and projects in the pipeline, Max has decided to mark the one year anniversary of his first solo release with another single.
Out on 31st January, “One Day” is solo track number 5 for this enthusiastic singer/songwriter. In the past, Max’s songs have had a feel good, laid back feel to them, but lyrically they can hold a slightly deeper meaning. The same can be said for “One Day”, however the contrast between a notably more dancey sound than we’ve heard from Max before, and the sombre tone of the lyrics, is more obvious than before. Yet it works. Clever song writing that is able to make you feel one way with the music and another from the lyrics, is something different from the norm.
As soon as the track starts , there is an immediate need bubbling up, to head bop and click along, as an infectious guitar riff takes us into the track with delight. We are, at first, led to believe this is a tale of being with the love of your life, the apple of your eye. As the song begins to build in texture, and the tempo rises into the chorus, we are thrown, as the wonderfulness we are made to feel from the dance beat of the music, takes a different path to the lyrical road we are guided along. As we are thrown into confusion, the story unravels and it becomes clear that this is a track about a relationship that never was, where one person wanted it to work and the other person has long moved on. Musically and lyrically the song is like light and dark, but there’s no rule saying that sad songs have to be slow, is there? Even if there is, rules are meant to be broken. That’s one of the things I like about this track, it lulls you into a false sense of security then rips it away from you, making you feel guilty for wanting to keep on dancing, especially when the narrator talks about feeling like they’ve been played.
With each listen of “One Day”, you can hear all the elements that have been stitched together to create this track. A track that no doubt started off as a simple guitar riff and a few scribbled down lyrics, and has now been built up into a pop/dance track that still embraces what Max sets out to do as an artist, enjoyable, easy listening pop.
If you focus in on the music alone, you hear all the sounds and textures that add meat to the proverbial bones of this song, like picking up on different sounds amongst the raindrops in a tropical rain forest. Without just one of those sounds, the whole setting just wouldn’t feel complete, each one adding something desirable to the finished track.
The harder hitting lyrics, exposing the truth that none of this ever happened, fall on top of a warmer beat before another round of the chorus leads us into a final reprise of the descending guitar riff, which is the core musical element that runs throughout.
Max has the ability to add quirk and character to his guitar sections, and the lyrics feel personal and relatable which helps him connect to his audience. The overall dance feel to “One Day” shows another side of Max Stockin, and is testament to what can be achieved if you focus on what you can do, rather than what you can’t do, in trying times.
2021 is set to be another productive year for Max, and I’m keen to see if there are even more directions he can take his signature style into. I’m willing to bet there are several more surprises up his sleeve.
By: Kate Ford