Marie Dahlstrøm injects some excitement into R&B again.

 

If there is one criticism to be made of most R&B artists, it’s that they tend to play it safe on tracks. The beats are polished, the electronic sounds are perfectly formed, and the vocals are delivered in a radio-friendly and inoffensive way. It’s almost become a little bit boring.

Cue Marie Dahlstrøm, an R&B songwriter with an edge of unpredictability. Her latest single Home Tonight initially doesn’t strike as anything particularly noteworthy, as the instrumentation is as smooth and well-crafted as any modern R&B single. Regardless, it’s testament to the production skills of both Dahlstrøm and Aston Rudi that the values on this rival that of many radio-playlist-topping artists.

Yet it’s Dahlstrøm’s vocal deliveries that really make this track stand out. Instead staying safely in the confines of each musical movement, many of the sentences feel like they’re littering the musical landscape and is struggling to be contained by the instrumentation itself. Lines where no more syllables will comfortably fit, Dahlstrøm sometimes throws in a couple more. It’s enough to make it sound busy, but not cluttered, and more interesting than your standard, playing-it-safe single. Combine this with an erratic rhythm and it’s a winning formula, showing this to be a single that does more than cash in and follow popular fashion.