Dan Black - Alone (single)

Sometimes you come across songs that you know more could be made of, there is something there but it’s not been truly capitalised on.

Dan Black’s single ’Alone’ unfortunately suffers with this. On the first listen the song felt completely throwaway but the more I listened to it the more I saw what it could have been and what it failed to achieve, there was potential there, no doubt.

To simplify things Dan Black gives me an idea of what it would sound if Hot Chip covered Prince, there is no doubt that the production is slick and polished, they were clearly going for a less is more approach but I however felt that is its biggest downfall.

The problem is except the jazz funk bass line that rides the verses nothing stands out, it’s all nice and tidy and sits there doing its job but feels way too middle of the road. The chorus definitely has something there, but due to the way it sneaks up on you there is no real way to gauge how strong it could have been made, there are glimpses of this in the outro but by then it’s too little too late. The lyrics although very safe do their job, but there’s no great insight here, not that it’s always needed but I feel they could have done with slightly more depth.

On the whole the track is a decent electro pop number, nothing overt and it’s straight to the point but I fail to see how it could stand out from the crowd.

2/5