Pristine strings, shimmering keys and a beefy percussion combine forces to make a backdrop as elegant as it is ethereally pop-friendly in the new single from Johnnie Mikel, “Nothing to Lose,” but despite their amalgamation of power, it pales in comparison to what this singer can do with his voice alone.
Mikel isn’t afraid to go after the biggest and boldest verses he can in this single; from the get-go, he’s got a swaggering persona in “Nothing to Lose” that comes in strong contrast with the angst-ridden tone many of his contemporaries have been using in recent releases. There isn’t anything in this world that could get him down in the chorus – he’s springy, full of energy and ready for anything that’s coming his way. In a summer that has yet to feel like a real summer for both music fans and everyday people the same, Johnnie Mikel is out to get a real party started with his fabulous new pop single, which I would eagerly deem one of the more interesting dispatches out of the American underground in the past month or two.
This is a very beat-driven master mix, and though I wouldn’t discount the impact of the melodic components of the mood of the music overall, there’s no getting around the centerpiece element here – the drums. Alongside Johnnie Mikel’s vocal, the percussion pushes us into the arms of the hook more than any other part in the track does (and all without interrupting the steady flow of the verses, which is no easy feat when you’re dealing with a drumbeat as large and in charge as this one is). The verses straddle the instrumental rhythm rather than the other way around, which allows for the vocal to frame some of the grooves in the music in what amounts to a highly experimental – but wholly fascinating – approach to a modern style of pop music. There’s nothing coming between the artist and his audience in this track; even at its most impactful, every element is very crisp, clean and defined in the big picture, making it possible for us to enjoy “Nothing to Lose” in all of its organic splendor.
URL: https://www.johnniemikel.com/
If this is just a glimpse into the future of Johnnie Mikel’s discography, I don’t plan on stepping away from his output anytime soon. He’s got a lot of talent that’s being beautifully exploited in this single and its companion lyric video, and if he’s able to continue growing in the same creative trajectory that he has been over the last few years, I haven’t any doubts as to whether or not he’s going to see a lot more success in 2020 than he did in any part of the 2010s.
Mikel is facing a plethora of rivals across the underground circuit at the moment, but with the chops that he’s showing off in “Nothing to Lose,” I’m fairly certain you’ll agree with me when I say that he’s unquestionably on the upper tier of his peer group at the moment.
Jodi Marxbury