Comprised of a subtle but enticing rhythm, swaggering lead vocals, an indulgent slew of keys that form a melody perfect for ushering forth blues-laden lyrics and a sense of urgency that is underscored by the frustratingly pendulous accent towards the main hook, describing Linda Imperial’s new single “I Found Me” as a complex effort might not be doing it justice.
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Truthfully, as multilayered as the cosmetics of this song would have us believe its actual compositional substance to be, “I Found Me” really isn’t quite as intense and intricately-wound as it might look on paper – centered on Imperial’s voice, this is ultimately a track that was conceived to give us heavenly harmonies of the most divine quality this fall. The vocal leads us into the thick of the sonic brush only to protect us from the melancholy of the instrumentation through both efficiently-constructed verses and a stutter-step groove that seduced me in my very first sit-down with the single just this past week. There’s no rushing anything in this performance, and because she’s taking her time in laying out as formidable a presence as she can, Linda Imperial sounds all the more like the seasoned indie star she should be regarded as.
The smoky harmony in “I Found Me” is absolutely the undisputed center of attention whenever it’s inserted between the gentle push of the drums and the moaning angst of the harmonica, and I like that it frames the lyrics in a rustic lens not afforded to any of the other components here. Every element in the mix has its own identity rather than contributing to a single concept or theme, which is part of the reason why I think it sounds as orchestral in some spots as it inarguably does. I love the spacing between the percussive pulsations in the backdrop and the vocal upfront as it lends an atmospheric quality that would not have been present in this song otherwise, but I don’t think it’s the lone feature that induces catharsis amidst the smothering tone of the music.
I only just recently found out about the work Linda Imperial has been breaking off since the 90’s, but with “I Found Me” acting as my first proper introduction to her sound, I think I’m going to enjoy exploring the rest of her discography for sure. It would be really interesting to hear her approach to this composition in a live setting, particularly as it sports such a smoky nightclub-quality in its bones, but in any case, I would recommend those with a taste for throwbacks to a vocal-centric era in the history of blues-rock check this out immediately. Imperial is an amazingly talented woman, and even with all of the competition she’s facing, she’s sounding like a member of the elite class here without question.
Jodi Marxbury